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SOME  INTERESTING 
BOSTON  EVENTS 


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PRINTED      FOR     THE 

STATE     STREET     TRUST     COMPANY 
BOSTON,    MASS. 


Copyright,  1916, 

BY   THE 

State  Street  Trust  Company 


Compiled,  arranged  and  printed  by  direction  of 

Walton  Advertising  &  Printing  Co. 

Boston,  Mass. 


FOREWORD 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  State  Street  Trust  Company  to  select 
for  this  the  tenth  pamphlet  in  its  series,  historical  events  associated 
with  Massachusetts,  particularly  Boston,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
choose  events  of  a  varied  nature  in  order  to  interest  as  many  readers 
as  possible.  Certain  of  the  better  known  subjects  have  been  purposely 
omitted,  as  it  was  thought  that  a  selection  of  somewhat  less  known, 
though  perhaps  equally  important,  events  would  prove  of  greater 
interest. 

For  assistance  in  preparing  the  present  pamphlet  the  Trust  Com- 
pany desires  to  give  credit  first  of  all  to  the  officers  of  this  Company; 
then  to  the  late  Governor,  Curtis  Guild,  for  valuable  suggestions  as 
to  the  subject-matter;  also  to  Mr.  Samuel  Morison  for  other  sugges- 
tions; to  Mr.  Otto  Fleischner,  of  the  Boston  Public  Library,  for  valu- 
able assistance  in  the  selection  of  reference  books;  to  Mr.  C.  K.  Bolton, 
of  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  and  Mr.  Charles  F.  Read,  of  the  Bostonian 
Society;  to  Mr.  P.  K.  Foley  and  Mr.  C.  E.  Goodspeed  for  assistance 
covering  certain  pictures  and  references. 

For  assistance  on  specific  subjects  the  Company  wishes  to  thank 
Mr.  Louis  A.  Cook  for  help  in  connection  with  the  account  of  the  first 
settlement  in  Boston  Harbour;  Prof.  A.  Lawrence  Lowell,  of  Harvard 
College,  Mr.  William  C.  Lane,  of  the  Harvard  College  Library,  and 
Mr.  Roger  Pierce,  for  information  furnished  in  regard  to  "Fair 
Harvard";  Dr.  J.  Collins  Warren  and  Mr.  C.  K.  Bolton  for  their 
assistance  in  obtaining  certain  facts  in  connection  with  the  Old  North 
Church;  Mr.  Charles  H.  Taylor,  Jr.,  Miss  Clara  Parker,  of  the 
Nantucket  Athenaeum,  Miss  Anne  W.  Bodfish,  Secretary  of  the 
Nantucket  Historical  Society,  Mr.  George  H.  Tripp,  Librarian  of 
the  New  Bedford  Library,  and  Mr.  William  Rotch  for  information  con- 
cerning Mr.  Rotch's  Counting  House  in  Nantucket;  Mr.  C.  H.  W. 
Foster,  Mr.  W.  S.  Crane,  and  Mr.  William  Sumner  Appleton  for 
suggestions  in  regard  to  the  Province  House;  Mr.  F.  H.  Curtiss, 
of  the  Boston  Federal  Reserve  Bank,  for  books  and  information 
furnished  in  regard  to  the  United  States  Branch  Banks;  Mr.  Eric 
Pape  and  Dr.  Robert  T.  Moffatt  for  information  and  photographs 
furnished  concerning  the  frigate  Constitution.  Mr.  J.  Paulding 
Meade,  of  Boston,  Mr.  Charles  W.  Noyes,  of  New  York,  and  Mr. 
Ricker,  of  Islesboro,  Maine,  for  assistance  concerning  the  Penobscot 


FOREWORD 

Expedition;  Mr.  Henry  M.  Faxon,  of  Quincy,  Mr.  Harold  J.  Coolidge, 
and  Mr.  J.  S.  Lawrence  for  their  help  in  connection  with  the  history 
of  the  Granite  Railway  Company;  Dr.  J.  Collins  Warren  and  Dr. 
Washburn,  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  for  suggestions  and 
assistance  concerning  the  first  ether  operation;  Mr.  Thomas  A. 
Watson,  Mr.  Philip  L.  Spalding,  President  of  the  New*  England 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company,  and  Mr.  George  W.  Dennison, 
Vice-President  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, for  valuable  help  given  in  the  preparation  of  the  account  of 
the  first  telephone  message,  and  Mr.  S.  H.  Levangia,  Manager  of  the 
New  Palace  Theatre,  for  his  kindness  in  allowing  photographs  to  be 
taken;  Mr.  J.  T.  Wheelwright  for  information  concerning  the  Boston 
Common;  Hon.  Louis  A.  Frothingham,  Mr.  Thomas  E.  Pedrick, 
Sergeant  at  Arms  at  the  State  House,  and  his  secretary,  Miss  Ellen 
M.  Burrill,  for  information  and  help  in  connection  with  the  Return  of 
the  Flags,  also  Mr.  Edward  Simmons  for  permission  to  use  a  photo- 
graph of  this  painting;  Duffield  &  Co.  for  permission  to  reproduce 
illustrations;  and  Mr.  Edwin  F.  Rice,  of  the  Boston  Public  Library, 
for  help  in  connection  with  the  story  of  Dickens'  Walking  Match. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The  First  Permanent  Settlement  in  Boston  Harbour      7 

Rev.   William  Blackstone,  the  First  Settler  of  Boston,  riding  on  his 

Brindled  Bull      8 

Some  of  the  Early  Punishments      10 

The  Beacon 14 

Mrs.  Sherman's  Pig 16 

Some  Early  Rules  of  Harvard  College 17 

Governor  Winthrop  treats  with  LaTour  and  the  Subsequent  Arrival  of 

D'Aulnay 20 

,   Some  Interesting  Events  on  Boston  Common 21 

The  First  Newspaper  in  America 26 

Captain  Kidd  arrested  and  jailed  in  Boston 27 

Benjamin  Franklin  delivers  Newspapers  in  Boston 29 

Some  Interesting  Events  in  Connection  with  Christ  Church,  or  "Old 

North  Church" 31 

Woodbridge-Phillips  Duel  on  the  Common »  .    .    .    .  33 

Massachusetts  issues  Lottery  Tickets  to  help  rebuild  Faneuil  Hall   ...  34 

Liberty  Tree 36 

Signing  of  the  Charter  Papers  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party  Vessels  in  the 

Rotch  Whaling  Office,  Nantucket 37 

General  Warren  climbs  through  the  Window  of  the  Old  South  Church 

to  deliver  his  Famous  "Massacre"  Speech 39 

The  Last  Ball  in  the  Province  House,  with  Some  Interesting  Information 

in  Regard  to  the  House 41 

"Frog"  Dinner  given  to  the  Officers  of  the  French  Fleet 44 

The  Penobscot  Expedition — Paul  Revere  a  Lieutenant      45 

Dr.  John  Jeffries  of  Boston — the  First  American  to  fly  over  the  English 

Channel 47 

The  First  United  States  Bank  in  Boston 49 

Launching  of  the  "Constitution" 51 

Lafayette  lays  the  Corner-stone  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument 54 

The  Granite  Railway  Company — the  First  Railroad  in  America      ...  56 

Mayor  Theodore  Lyman  protects  William  Lloyd  Garrison  from  the  Mob,  59 

The  First  Ether  Operation 61 

The  "Jamestown"  Expedition  to  Ireland 65 

Colonel  Robert  G.  Shaw  leads  his  Negro  Regiment  to  the  War    ....  67 

Return  of  the  Flags  to  the  State  House 68 

Dickens'  International  Walking  Match 72 

""First  Telephone  Message  in  Boston 74 


AN   ENGLISH   CARICATURE   ENTITLED   "BOSTONIANS   IN   DISTRESS," 

NOVEMBER    19,    1774. 

The  Yankees  are  shown  as  prisoners  in  a  cage  on  Liberty  Tree  and  are  being  fed  with 

codfish.     The  print  is  dated  1774.     It  may  be  seen  on  the  walls  of  the 

State  Street  Trust  Company. 


Some  Interesting  Boston  Events 


THE    FIRST   PERMANENT   SETTLEMENT    IN    BOSTON 

HARBOUR 

TO  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  and  his  son  Robert  belongs  the  credit 
for  the  establishment  in  1623  of  the  first  enduring  settlement  in 
Boston  Harbour,  at  Wessagusset,  now  Weymouth,  at  a  point  on 
Phillips  Creek,  above  the  present  Fore  River  Bridge.  The  Norsemen 
ventured  near  our  coast  over  six  hundred  years  before;  the  Cabots 
from  Spain,  backed  by  the  English,  had  explored  our  New  England 
ports;  Captain  John  Smith  had  actually  entered  Boston  Harbour 
and  made  a  map,  and  Myles  Standish  visited  the  Indian  camps 
along  the  Mystic  River.  Even  as  late  as  1622  an  expedition  sent  out 
by  Thomas  Weston  had  established  a  trading  post  at  Wessagusset, 
which  was  abandoned  in  a  short  time. 

Ferdinando  Gorges,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
and  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  King  James  to  such  a  degree  that  that 
monarch  appointed  him  Governor  of  Plymouth,  England,  had 
for  years  dreamed  of  a  colony  in  the  new  world.  His  ambition  was 
to  establish  a  principality  of  a  permanent  character.  For  sixteen 
years  he  struggled  and  pleaded  his  cause  before  King  and  courtiers 
and  made  fruitless  attempts  at  starting  settlements  on  the  Maine 
Coast.  He  had  been  given  the  title  "Lord  of  Maine."  When,  in 
1623,  his  son  Robert  returned  from  the  Venetian  wars  he  felt  that 
the  opportunity  for  favorable  action  had  arrived,  and  accordingly 
the  first  meeting  of  the  "Council  of  New  England" — which  had  been 
granted  a  patent  by  the  Crown  in  1620  and  was  composed  of  forty 
persons — was  held  at  Greenwich,  England,  on  June  29.  Among 
those  attending  the  meeting  were  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  Duke 
of  Richmond  and  a  number  of  other  notable  peers.  The  territory 
covered  by  the  patent  lay  on  the  northeast  side  of  Boston  Bay  with 
a  sea  front  of  ten  straight  miles,  including  all  the  islands  within  a 
league  of  the  shore,  and  extending  thirty  miles  into  the  interior. 

As  a  result  of  this  meeting  an  expedition  set  out  in  the  midsummer 
of  1623  under  the  leadership  of  Robert  Gorges  as  Governor  General. 
It  was  made  up  of  mechanics,  farmers  and  traders,  as  well  as  gentle- 
men and  divines.  A  landing  was  made  in  September  at  Wessagusset, 
where  use  was  made  of  the  block  house  and  other  buildings  erected 
by  Weston  the  year  before. 

Robert  Gorges,  who  was  not  a  strong  character,  but  a  man  of  a 
somewhat  vainglorious  disposition,  involved  himself  in  quarrels  with 
his  neighbors,  especially  his  predecessor,  Weston,  whom  he  proposed 
to  punish  for  various  trading  misdemeanors.  He  even  caused 
Weston's  arrest  and  detention  as  a  prisoner  until  the  spring  of  the 
following  year.  The  winter  was  a  terrible  surprise  in  its  rigor.  As 
Adams  says:    "They  had  come  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  wilder- 

[  7  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

ness.  Locked  in  a  desert  of  ice  and  snow, — inhabiting  a  log  hut 
on  the  edge  of  a  salt  marsh,  with  a  howling,  unexplored  forest  behind 
and  around  them, — well  might  they,  with  the  mercury  at  zero,  ask 
themselves  'Where  was  that  moderate  temper  of  the  air,  where  those 
silent  streams  of  a  calm  sea'  which  Smith  had  pictured?  Young  men 
accustomed  to  the  soft  winter  climate  of  Devon  were  exposed  to  the 
blasts  of  Greenland.  Where,  too,  was  the  'fouling  and  fishing?'  The 
waters  were  covered  with  ice  and  the  woods  were  impassable  with 
snow.  So  Robert  Gorges  got  through  the  long  winter  as  best  he 
could,  heartily  wishing  himself  back  again  in  the  Venetian  service, 
or  even  the  dreary  tedium  of  Plymouth." 

In  the  early  spring  word  came  from  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  that 
there  were  no  further  funds  available  for  the  colony,  and  inasmuch, 
to  quote  Bradford,  as  Gorges  had  not  found  "the  state  of  things 
hear  to  answer  his  qualitie  and  condition"  he  was  only  too  ready  to 
give  up  his  share  in  the  expedition  and  return  to  England,  after, 
as  Bradford  again  says,  "having  scarcely  saluted  the  cuntrie  in  his 
governmente."     The  settlement,  however,  was  never  abandoned. 

An  amusing  story,  about  the  authenticity  of  which  there  may  be 
some  question,  is  told  in  connection  with  the  early  days  of  this  colony. 
The  settlers  had  stolen  a  good  deal  of  corn  from  the  Indians,  and  one 
of  them  was  at  last  caught.  The  Indians  demanded  that  he  should 
be  executed,  but  were  willing  to  allow  the  whites  to  act  as  his  execu- 
tioner. Strong  men  were  not  very  plentiful  in  the  settlement,  so, 
after  thinking  matters  over,  the  colonists  concluded  that  it  would  be 
a  pity  to  kill  one  of  the  best  men  they  had  when  they  could  take  an 
old  and  impotent  member  of  the  colony.  They  therefore  decided 
to  take  off  the  clothes  of  the  man  who  committed  the  robbery  and 
put  them  on  another,  "to  let  this  sick  person  be  hung  in  the  other's 
steade."  By  persuasion  they  got  the  innocent  man  "bound  fast  in 
jest  and  then  hung  him  up  hard  by  in  good  earnest."  An  old  poem 
commemorates  this  incident  in  the  following  words : — 

"Resolved  to  spare  him;   yet  to  do 
The  Indian  Hogun  Moghan  too 
Impartial  justice,  in  his  stead  did 
Hang  an  old  Weaver  that  was  bed-rid." 

REV.   WILLIAM   BLACKSTONE,   THE  FIRST  SETTLER  OF 
BOSTON,  RIDING  ON  HIS   BRINDLED   BULL 

"Old  Shawmut's  pioneer 
The  Parson  on  his  brindled  Bull." 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

It  is  rather  difficult  to  imagine  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blackstone  galloping 
by  moonlight  along  the  sands  of  a  cove,  which  is  now  part  of  Charles 
Street,  on  his  mouse-colored  bull;  nevertheless  such  is  the  picture 
which  Motley  gives  of  him  in  his  "Merry  Mount." 

The  first  settler  of  Boston,  William  Blaxton  (now  spelled  Blackstone), 
often  alluded  to  as  the  Hermit  of  Shawmut,  is  supposed  to  have 
brought  this  bull  from  England  and  to  have  trained  him  to  the  saddle. 
During  his  rides  he  was  wont  to  distribute  "Blackstone"  apples  or 

[  8  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

"sweetings"  to  both  children  and  grown-ups.  His  orchard,  situated 
on  a  part  of  the  Common  near  what  is  now  Louisburg  Square,  was 
the  first  one  to  cultivate  this  fruit  in  New  England. 

Blackstone,  a  man  of  much  culture  and  many  eccentricities,  had 
come  over  either  with  Robert  Gorges  in  1623  or  with  Captain  Wollas- 
ton  in  1625,  and  about  the  latter  year  he  took  up  his  lonely  abode  on 
Shawmut  peninsula.  He  lived  in  a  hut  near  an  excellent  spring  on 
that  part  of  Beacon  Hill  which  overlooked  the  Charles  River,  a  point 
later  known  as  Blackstone  Point,  and  now  corresponding  to  the  corner 
of  Beacon  and  Spruce  Streets.  He  is  described  as  being  "a  solitary, 
bookish  recluse,  about  thirty-five  years  of  age,  somewhat  above  middle 


Blackstone's  house,  near  Beacon  and  Walnut  Streets,  at  the  foot  of  Beacon  Hill 

height,  slender  in  form,  with  a  pale,  thoughtful  face,  wearing  a  con- 
fused, dark-colored,  'canonical  coate,'  with  broad  rimmed  hat  strung 
with  shells  like  an  ancient  palmer,  and  slouched  back  from  his  pensive 
brow,  around  which  his  prematurely  gray  hair  fell  in  heavy  curls 
far  down  his  neck.  He  had  a  wallet  at  his  side,  a  hammer  in  his 
girdle,  a  long  staff  in  his  hand." 

Blackstone  came  to  New  England  for  peace  and  quiet  and  stead- 
fastly refused  to  embroil  himself  in  the  religious  controversies  of  the 
time,  so  much  so  that  Cotton  Mather  in  his  "Magnalia"  wrote  of 
him,  "he  would  never  join  himself  to  any  of  our  churches,  giving  as 
his  reason,  'I  came  from  England  because  I  did  not  like  the  Lord 
Bishops;  I  can't  join  with  you  because  I  would  not  be  under  the 
Lord  Brethren."  On  the  whole,  however,  he  dwelt  in  amity  with 
these  intolerant  religionists. 

[  9] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

He  was  not  long  to  remain  undisturbed,  for  in  1630  when  Governor 
Winthrop  and  his  followers  moved  from  Charlestown — really  follow- 
ing a  generous  invitation  from  Blackstone  himself — we  find  the 
hermit  saying,  "I  looked  to  have  dwelt  with  my  orchards,  and  my 
books,  and  my  young  fawn,  and  my  bull,  in  undisturbed  solitude. 
Was  there  not  room  enough  for  all  of  ye?  Could  ye  not  leave  the 
hermit  in  his  corner?" 

In  1634  Blackstone  sold  forty-four  of  his  fifty  acres  to  Governor 
Winthrop  for  £30,  the  money  being  raised  by  a  tax  levied  on  the 
inhabitants.  He  retained  his  house  and  remaining  six  acres  for 
himself.  This  six  acre  lot  was  later  owned  by  Copley,  the  painter. 
The  forty-four  acres  purchased  by  Governor  Winthrop  were  laid  out 
for  a  training  field,  which  is  now  our  Common. 

In  1635  the  place  became  too  crowded  for  the  parson,  so  he  moved 
to  a  farm  at  Rehoboth,  in  Rhode  Island.  It  is  generally  admitted 
to-day  that  he,  and  not  Roger  Williams,  was  the  first  white  inhabitant 
of  Rhode  Island.  In  his  new  home  he  cultivated  his  seven  hundred 
acre  estate,  and  rode  about  on  his  bull,  preaching  the  gospel  occasion- 
ally. He  was  married  by  Governor  Endicott  in  Boston  in  1635  to 
Mistress  Sarah,  widow  of  John  Stevenson,  with  whom  he  lived  many 
years  in  happiness.  Finally,  on  May  26,  1675,  he  died  at  the  ripe 
age  of  eighty.  Roger  Williams,  his  neighbor,  records  his  death  as 
follows:  "About  a  fortnight  since  your  old  acquaintance,  Mr.  Black- 
stone, departed  this  life  in  the  fourscore  year  of  his  life;  four  days 
before  his  death  he  had  a  great  pain  in  his  breast  and  back,  and  bowels, 
afterward  he  said  he  was  well,  had  no  paines  and  should  live,  but  he 
grew  fainter  and  yielded  his  breath  without  a  groan." 

His  library  comprised  one  hundred  and  sixty  volumes,  and  ten 
manuscripts  which  were  valued  in  the  inventory  of  his  estate  at  six 
pence  each,  or  five  shillings  for  the  lot.  Within  one  month  of  his 
death  King  Philip's  War  broke  out,  and  up  in  smoke  went  his  library, 
with  these  ten  precious  paper  volumes  which  undoubtedly  contained 
the  written  records  of  the  beginnings  of  Boston. 

Among  the  reminders  of  Blackstone  to-day,  inasmuch  as  they  bear 
his  name,  are  the  river,  the  valley,  a  town  in  Massachusetts  and  a 
busy  street  in  Boston. 

He  was  certainly  a  singular  character  and  was  fittingly  described 
by  his  namesake,  Sir  William  Blackstone,  the  English  lawyer,  who 
said, — 

"As  by  some  tyrant's  stern  command, 
A  wretch  forsakes  his  native  land, 
In  foreign  climes  condemned  to  roam, 
An  endless  exile  from  his  home." 

SOME   OF  THE   EARLY  PUNISHMENTS 

It  was  customary  in  the  early  days  of  the  Colony  to  punish  people 
by  degrading  them  in  public  by  exposure  in  stocks,  bilboes,  the  pillory, 
the  brank  or  the  ducking  stool,  rather  than  by  imprisonment  or  fines, 
and  the  usual  places  for  such  punishment  were  in  the  market  squares 
or  in  front  of  the  meeting-houses. 

The  bilboes,  which  were  often  used  in  Boston  to  "punyssche  trans- 

[  io  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 


THE   BILBOES. 


gressours  ageynste  ye  Kinges  Maiesties  lawes,"  consisted  of  a  long, 
heavy  iron  bar  with  two  sliding  shackles,  like  handcuffs,  for  the 
legs.  This  bar  was  fastened  to  the  top  of  a  post,  and  the  offender  had 
to  lie  on  his  back  on  the  ground  with  his 
feet  in  the  air.  The  instrument  derived 
its  name  from  Bilboa  where  it  was  be- 
lieved many  were  made  and  shipped  on  the 
Spanish  Armada  to  shackle  the  English 
prisoners  when  captured! 

The  earliest  record  we  have  in  Boston 
of  the  bilboes  was  in  1632  when  the  entry 
says  that  "James  Woodward  shall  be  sett 
in  the  bilbowes  for  being  drunk  at  the 
Newetowne,"  now  Cambridge.  The  fol- 
lowing year  Thomas  Dexter  was  likewise 
punished  for  "prophane  saying  dam  ye 
come."  Thomas  Morton  of  Merry  Mount 
was  also  sentenced  to  be  "clapt  into  the 
bilbowes."  In  1639  Edward  Palmer,  a 
Boston  carpenter,  made  a  pair  of  stocks, 
and,  as  most  people  know,  he  was  the 
first  person  to  be  placed  in  them,  "for  his 
extortion  in  taking  £l,  13/  Id.  for  the 
plank  and  woodwork."  He  was  " censured 
to  bee  sett  an  houre  in  the  stocks."  On  many  occasions  did  they  per- 
form service  in  the  colony,  being  chiefly  used  to  take  care  of  drunkards 
who  couldn't  handle  their  legs  properly.  Each  town  was  obliged  to 
have  its  stocks,  and  in  1639  Dedham  was  fined  for  not  having  a  pair. 

The  most  interesting  and  ignoble  of  all  the  instruments  of  punish- 
ment was  the  ducking  stool,  which  was  used  especially  as  a  cure  for 
scolding  women,  "chyderers"  and  wife  beaters;  also  it  was  used  to 
punish  brewers  of  bad  beer  and  bakers  of  poor  bread;  it  was  also 
supposed  to  stop  all  quarrelling  between  married  couples,  after  they 
had  been  ducked  several  times  while  tied  back  to  back.  The  culprit 
was  plunged  in  as  often  as  the  sentence  directed,  and  it  has  been  re- 
lated how  quickly  a  bath,  especially  in  cold  water,  would  change  a 
person's  point  of  view.  A  few  lines  from  a  poem  entitled  "The 
Ducking  Stool"  are  amusing: — 

"If  noisy  dames  should  once  begin 
To  drive  the  house  with  horrid  din, 
Away,  you  cry,  you'll  grace  the  stool; 
We'll  teach  you  how  your  tongue  to  rule. 
Down  in  the  deep  the  stool  descends, 
But  here,  at  first,  we  miss  our  ends; 
She  mounts  again  and  rages  more 
Than  ever  vixen  did  before. 
If  so,  my  friend,  pray  let  her  take 
A  second  turn  into  the  lake, 
And,  rather  than  your  patience  lose, 
Thrice  and  again  repeat  the  dose, 
No  brawling  wives,  no  furious  wenches, 
No  fire  so  hot  but  water  quenches." 

[  11  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Massachusetts  had  no  "ducking  stool"  until  fifty  years  or  so  after 
the  first  settlement,  when  we  find  that  Governor  Bellingham  had  a 
law  passed  that  "persons  convicted  of   ray  ling  or  scolding  shalbe 

gagged  or  sett  in  a  ducking  stoole  and  dipt 
over  head  and  eares  three  times  in  some 
convenient  place  of  fresh  or  salt  water." 
John  Dunton,  who  wrote  about  Boston  in 
1686,  said  that  "Scolds  they  gag  and  set 
them  at  their  own  doors  .  .  .  for  all  comers 
and  goers  to  gaze  at,  .  .  .  to  cure  the  noise 
that  is  in  many  Women's  heads." 

The  pillory,  or  "stretch-neck"  as  it  is 
often  called,  was  much  used  in  Massachu- 
setts until  1803,  and  it  was  a  very  common 
occurrence  to  see  the  helpless  culprits  ex- 
posed to  the  jeers  of  the  passers-by,  who 
often  added  to  their  insults  by  throwing 
rotten  eggs  and  even  garbage. 

The  whipping  post  "for  fools'  backs" 
was  the  punishment  inflicted  for  lying, 
swearing,  perjury,  drunkenness,  selling  rum 
to  the  Indians,  "for  repeated  sleeping  on 
the  Lord's  Day,"  and  slander.  A  sentence 
was  usually  forty  stripes,  and  often  the 
Court  decreed  that  the  offender  should  be 
whipped  in  two  cities,  usually  some  dis- 
tance apart,  so  that  at  the  second  whipping  the  culprit's  back  would 
have  stiffened  and  would  therefore  hurt  the  more.  The  most  con- 
spicuous whipping  post  was  on  State  Street,  then  King  Street;  there 
was  also  one  on  Queen  Street,  as  well  as  on  the  Common. 

A  customary  form  of  punishment  in  the  Colony  was  to  tie  round 
the  offender's  neck  a  placard  upon  which  was  marked  the  initial  de- 
scriptive of  the  crime,  such  as  "B"  for  uttering  blasphemous  words, 
"V"  for  viciousness,  "R"  for  rogue,  "D"  for  drunkenness,  etc. 
The  culprit  was  also  often  exhibited  to  public  view  in  a  cage,  in  the 
stocks,  in  the  pillory,  or  on  the  gallows. 

The  brank,  or  gossip's  bridle,  was  used  in  a  mild  form  in  Massachu- 
setts, being  called  a  cleft  stick,  and  there  are  numerous  cases  men- 
tioned of  persons  having  been  subjected  to  this  punishment  for  "swear- 
inge  or  railinge."  Public  penance  was  another  form  of  punishment, 
the  guilty  person,  wrapped  in  white,  being  obliged  to  sit  on  a  stool 
"in  the  middle  alley"  of  the  meeting-house  to  make  public  acknowl- 
edgment of  some  small  crime  against  the  strict  laws  of  the  day. 
Burglary  and  some  other  crimes  were  punished  in  all  the  colonies  by 
branding. 

The  wooden  horse  was  a  punishment  reserved  especially  for  soldiers, 
and  on  one  occasion  we  find  Paul  Revere  as  presiding  officer  ordering 
a  Continental  soldier  to  "ride  the  Wooden  Horse  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hower  with  a  musket  on  each  foot."  In  Governor  Winthrop's  day 
delinquent  soldiers  were  sentenced  to  carry  pieces  of  turf  to  the  Fort, 
while  others  were  chained  to  a  wheelbarrow  and  made  to  work.     A  de- 

[  12  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

serter  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  tied  on  a  horse  with 
his  face  towards  the  horse's  tail  and  led  around  the  camp.  During 
the  Civil  War  another  soldier  was  condemned  to  get  inside  a  barrel, 
which  was  then  tied  to  his  neck  so  that  he  could  walk  around  without 
its  touching  the  ground. 

The  laws  in  regard  to  Quakers  are  too  numerous  to  enumerate. 
One  of  the  laws  passed  in  Massachusetts  in  1657  was  as  follows:  "A 
Quaker,  if  male,  for  the  first  offense  shall  have  one  of  his  eares  cutt 
off;    for  the  second  offense  have  his  other  eare  cutt  off;    a  woman 
shalbe  severely  whipt;    for  the  third  offense,  they,  he  or  she,  shall 
have  their  tongues  bored  through  with  a  hot  iron."     There  were  also 
some  other  very  curious  punishments.     Often  an  offender  was  ordered 
to  sit  on  the  gallows  or  to  walk  around  the  town  with  a  rope  around 
his  neck.     In  Boston  a  man  was  once  fined  and  imprisoned  for  en- 
deavoring to  spread  the  smallpox.     In   1652  another  was  fined  for 
excess  of  apparel  "in  bootes,  rebonds,  gould  and  silver  lace."     In 
Salem,   in   Governor  Endicott's   time,   a  Puritan  was  penalized  for 
wearing    too  long    hair, — long    hair  being    considered    at  this    time 
"bushes  of  vanity."     Kissing  in  the  street  was  an  offence  punishable 
by  a  fine  or  whipping,  and  it  is  related  that  a  husband  who  had  just 
returned  from  a  long  voyage  happened  to  meet  his  wife  in  the  street 
and  kissed  her.     He  was  discovered,  and  when  fined  was  so  angry 
that  he  swore  he  would  never  kiss  her  again.     There  was  a  Bostonian 
who  purchased  a  horse  from  a  countryman  and  gave  in  exchange  a 
note  payable  on  the.  "Day  of  the  Resurrection."     The  amount  of 
the  fine  is  not  mentioned.     One  of  the  Plymouth  Laws  of  1638  forbade 
a  man  from  proposing  marriage  before  obtaining  consent  of  one  of 
the  parents.     The  penalty  for  counterfeiting  bills  was  very  severe, 
and  the  Continental  bills  all  bore  this  inscription:  "To  counterfeit 
this  bill  is  Death."     Another  curious  punishment  of  the  very  early 
days  was  to  call  a  man  by  his  first  name  instead  of  "Mr."     In  1643 
a  Salem  man  called  Scott   was    whipped  "for  repeated    sleeping  in 
meeting  on  the  Lord's  Day,  and  for  striking  the  person  who  waked 
him."     In  1786  four  convicts  were  ordered  to  the  Castle  to  make  nails. 
A  notice  in  one  of  the  Boston  papers  gave  a  list  of  the  heads  of  families 
who  would  have  to  spend  Christmas  in  jail  on  account  of  debt,  giving 
after  each  the  amount  owed.     A  postscript  at  the  bottom  asks,  "  Who 
among  the  opulent  is  willing  to  restore  a  father  to  his  family  and 
Christmas  Fire  Side?"     Sometimes  debtors  were  allowed  the  "Limits 
of  the  jail,"  or  in  other  words,  they  couldn't  go  more  than  a  specified 
distance  away.     At  one  time  it  was  believed  there  was  a  Tread-Mill 
at  the  Massachusetts  State  Prison  at  Charlestown.     There  was  a  law 
in  1639  that  no  ladies'  garments  "shall  be  made  with  short  sleeves 
whereby  the  nakedness  of  the  arm  may  be  discovered  in  the  wearing 
thereby."     Another  curious  record,  a  few  years  later,  shows  us  that 
Robert  Saltonstall  was  fined  5s.  for  presenting   his   petition  "on  so 
small  and  bad  a  piece  of  paper." 


[  13  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

THE  BEACON 

The  Beacon  was  erected  under  an  order  of  the  General  Court  in 
1635  on  one  of  Boston's  three  hills,  which  was  called  by  the  early 
settlers  "Tramount,"  as  it  was  composed  of  a  group  of  three  small 
hills.  The  elevation,  or  mountain  as  it  was  called,  was,  used  as  a 
lookout,  and  the  name  was  changed  to  Centry  or  Sentry  Hill,  and 
when  the  Beacon  was  set  up  it  was  known  by  its  present  name  of 
Beacon  Hill.  Its  object  was  "to  give  notice  to  the  country  of  any 
danger,  and  that  there  shalbe  a  ward  of  one  person  kept  there 
from  the  first  of  April  to  the  last  of  September,  and  that  upon  the 
disco v'ry  of  any  danger  the  beacon  shalbe  fired,  an  allarum  given, 
as  also  messengers  presently  sent  by  that  towne  where  the  danger 
is  discov'ed,  to  all  other  townes  within  their  jurisdiccon." 

The  Beacon  was  intended  to  give  warning  of  attacks  by  foreign 
countries  by  sea,  or  by  Indians  on  land.  There  was,  however,  little 
trouble  with  the  aborigines  in  Boston,  and  one  writer  states  that  it 
is  more  than  likely  that  the  settlers  annoyed  the  Indians  as  much  as 
the  Indians  did  the  settlers.  The  Indians  frequently  complained 
that  their  crops  were  injured  by  cows  belonging  to  the  English.  The 
Beacon,  however,  was  made  use  of  on  several  occasions.  In  1689, 
at  the  time  of  the  uprising  against  Governor  Andros,  a  flag  was  hauled 
up  on  the  pole  as  a  signal  to  the  soldiers  at  Charlestown  that  the 
controversy  was  soon  to  be  ended,  the  Governor  having  agreed  to 
surrender.  Some  years  later,  in  1768,  an  English  officer  arrived 
from  Halifax,  and  the  people  quite  naturally  thought  that  his  visit 
signified  the  arrival  of  more  troops.  They,  therefore,  placed  a  tar 
barrel  in  the  pot  on  the  Beacon  to  be  lit  when  the  King's  ships  arrived. 
Governor  Barnard  believed  this  to  be  an  insult  to  his  military  capacity, 
and  his  Council  ordered  the  Selectmen  to  remove  the  barrel,  but  they 
refused  to  act.  The  Governor,  therefore,  ordered  Sheriff  Greenleaf 
to  take  it  down,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing  stealthily  during  dinner 
time.  The  battles  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  the  burning  of  Charles- 
town,  and  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  were  watched  by  the  friends 
of  both  sides,  who  were  huddled  together  on  the  six  rods  of  land  at  the 
summit  of  the  hill. 

The  hill  upon  which  the  Beacon  was  erected  was  sixty  feet  higher 
than  it  is  now  and  was  situated  inside  of  the  present  State  House 
grounds  and  almost  directly  in  line  with  Park  Street  (then  called 
Centry  Street),  which  was  laid  out  in  1640.  Temple  Street  ran  over 
the  summit  from  the  westerly  side.  The  Beacon  was  reached  by 
wooden  steps  and,  on  nearing  the  top,  by  steps  dug  in  the  ground. 
The  boys  of  the  South  End  and  North  End  of  the  town  used  to  battle 
for  the  supremacy  of  the  hill-top,  and  another  favorite  pastime  for 
the  younger  generation  was  to  bat  a  ball  up  and  down  the  hill,  which 
was  more  difficult  than  it  looked,  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the  hill. 
Cows  were  pastured  part  of  the  way  up  the  incline. 

The  Beacon  was  a  tall  pole,  with  cross  sticks  to  be  used  in  its  ascent, 
and  projecting  from  one  side  near  the  top  it  had  an  iron  crane 
supporting  an  iron  pot,  for  the  reception  of  tar  or  some  other  combus- 
tible.    It  was  replaced  in  1768  "without  the  consent"  of  Governor 

[  14  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Barnard,  taken  down  by  General  Howe  in  1775  and  another  pole 
set  up  the  following  year  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  British  fort  which 
had  been  built  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  This  beacon  was  blown  down 
by  a  storm  in  1789,  and  in  the  following  year  a  monument  was  erected 
by  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  from  the  design  of  Charles  Bulfinch, 
then  a  Selectman  of  the  town,  "to  commemorate  the  train  of  events 
which  led  to  the  American  Revolution  and  finally  secured  Liberty 
and  Independence  to  the  United  States."  It  was  a  plain  Doric 
column  about  sixty  feet  high,  surmounted  by  a  large  eagle,  the  effigy 
of  which  is  now  over  the  President's  chair  in  the  Senate  Chamber. 
This  was  the  first  public  monument  erected  to  commemorate  the 


The  Monument  on  Beacon  Hill,  from  Bowdoin  Place,  showing  the  Thurston  house  as  it  ap- 
peared in  1811.  At  one  time  the  hill  was  so  steep  in  front  of  this  house  that  it  was  necessary 
to  hoist  up  all  the  wood  and  provisions.  From  an  old  print  in  the  collection  of  the  State  Street 
Trust  Company. 

events  of  our  Revolution.  Several  things  contributed  to  its  fate. 
To  begin  with,  Thomas  Hodson,  in  1764,  dug  out  so  much  of  the 
hill  belonging  to  him  that  there  was  danger  that  the  structure  would 
tumble  down;  then,  in  1795,  the  building  of  the  new  State  House 
by  Governor  Hancock  necessitated  encroachment  on  another  part 
of  it.  A  few  years  later  the  Mill-Pond  Corporation  obtained  from 
the  town  the  right  to  use  still  more  gravel,  and,  in  1811,  the  town 
sold  the  land  on  which  the  monument  stood  to  John  Hancock  and 
Samuel  Spear.  The  hill  was  then  completely  removed  and  used  as 
filling,  and  the  column  was  destroyed,  much  to  the  disgust  of  most 
of  the  inhabitants,  who  wished  to  keep  this  old  relic  intact.  The 
four  slate  tablets  containing  the  inscriptions  of  the  events  connected 
with  our  Revolutionary  War,  from  the  Stamp  Act,  in  1765,  to  the 
inaugural  of  Washington  as  President,  in   1789,  were  preserved  in 

[  15  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

the  State  House.  When  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association 
in  1899  presented  to  the  Commonwealth  an  exact  duplicate  of  the 
original  column,  these  tablets  were  built  into  the  monument,  which 
stands  on  the  same  spot  where  stood  its  predecessor,  opposite  the 
end  of  Ashburton  Place,  only  about  sixty  feet  lower.  The  Committee 
of  the  Association  originally  consisted  of  William  W.  Wheildon, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  F.  W.  Lincoln,  Jr.,  Winslow  Lewis  and 
J.  Huntington  Wolcott. 

There  were  only  a  few  houses  on  Beacon  Street  in  the  early  days, 
and  the  following  anecdote  shows  clearly  this  fact.  Mrs.  Dr.  John  Joy 
was  an  invalid,  and  upon  consultation  with  a  physician  he  suggested 
that  she  move  out  of  town  "to  Beacon  Street,"  and  she  was  frequently 
asked  how  she  happened  to  go  so  far  away. 

There  is  a  piece  of  poetry  which  speaks  of  the  Beacon  and  which 
is  quite  interesting  in  view  of  the  fact  that  not  long  after  the  words 
appeared  the  monument  was  erected  to  immortalize  the  victory  of 
the  Yankees.     The  lines  are: — 

"As  for  their  King,  John  Hancock 
And  Adams,  if  they're  taken, 
Their  heads  for  signs  shall  hang  up  high 
Upon  that  hill  call'd  Beacon." 

Robert  Turner,  a  shoemaker,  was  the  first  owner  of  Beacon  Hill,  and 
later  on  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Hancocks,  who  sold  to  the 
town  the  land  upon  which  the  State  House  now  stands. 

MRS.  SHERMAN'S  PIG 

Although  of  seemingly  small  importance  Mrs.  Sherman's  lost  sow 
has  come  down  in  history,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  many  lawsuits 
to  which  she  gave  rise  finally  resulted  in  changing  part  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Colony.  Governor  Winthrop  records  in  his  journal: 
"There  fell  out  a  great  business  upon  a  very  small  occasion.  Around 
1636  there  was  a  stray  sow  in  Boston,  which  was  brought  to  Captain 
Keayne;  he  had  it  cried  divers  times  and  divers  came  to  see  it  but 
none  made  claim  to  it  for  near  a  year.  He  kept  it  in  his  yard  with 
a  sow  of  his  own."  Finally  Keayne,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  left 
in  his  will  a  fund  to  assist  the  town  in  building  the  Old  State  House, 
killed  his  own  pig.  Soon  afterwards  Mrs.  Sherman  called,  declared 
that  the  live  pig  was  not  hers,  and  accused  Keayne  of  having  killed 
her  animal.  The  case  was  brought  before  the  Elders,  and  Keayne 
was  acquitted.  Mrs.  Sherman  then  carried  the  case  to  court,  her 
friend,  George  Story,  a  merchant  of  London,  acting  as  her  attorney. 
The  Captain  was  again  cleared,  and  the  jury  awarded  him  $3  for 
costs,  and  he  in  turn  sued  his  two  accusers,  recovering  $20  from  each 
one.  This  trivial  matter  now  assumed  the  aspect  of  a  political  ques- 
tion between  the  aristocratic  and  democratic  classes  and  occupied  a 
prominent  place  in  court  for  a  year.  Story  again  brought  suit,  but 
there  was  a  disagreement  among  the  magistrates  and  deputies,  espe- 
cially as  regards  the  ' '  Negative  Vo te . "  Magistrate  Richard  Saltonstall 
took  part  in  the  trial  and  sided  with  the  people.     The  final  result  was 

[  16  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

that  in  1644  the  " Assistants' '  or  Magistrates  of  the  Company  and 
the  Deputies,  now  called  respectively  Senators  and  Representatives, 
were  divided  into  two  co-ordinate  branches,  and  each  body  could  veto 
the  proceedings  of  the  other.  A  public  speaker  not  long  ago  remarked 
that  "Mrs.  Sherman's  pig  was  the  origin  of  the  present  Senate"  and 
that  "  he  hoped  the  members  of  it  would  not  disgrace  their  progenitor." 
Robert  Keayne,  besides  being  the  chief  donor  of  the  State  House, 
was  also  Captain  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company. 
He  lived  on  the  south  corner  of  Washington  and  State  Streets. 

SOME  EARLY  RULES  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE 

Some  of  Harvard's  old  regulations  would  not  please  very  much  the 
undergraduate  or  the  graduate  of  to-day.  President  Dunster's  rules, 
which  were  printed  in  Latin,  were  formulated  in  1642  and  continued 
in  force  until  about  1734.  No  student  was  admitted  until  he  was 
able  to  read,  write  and  speak  Latin  perfectly,  and  he  must  also  have 
an  excellent  knowledge  of  Greek,  and  during  his  college  course  he  was 
never  allowed  to  use  his  mother  tongue  except  in  certain  public  exer- 
cises of  oratory.  As  Harvard  was  primarily  a  Ministers'  college, 
every  one  had  to  read  the  Scriptures  twice  a  day  and  was  obliged  to 
attend  Chapel  also  twice  a  day,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  during 
the  summer  months,  and  half  an  hour  before  sunrise  in  the  winter, 
and  again  in  the  evening.  No  scholar  could  buy,  sell  or  exchange 
anything  over  six  pence  in  value  without  permission  of  his  parents, 
guardians,  or  tutors,  and  he  received  severe  admonition  if  he  were 
absent  from  prayers  or  lectures  even  once  during  the  week.  Another 
curious  rule  was  that  "every  scholar  shall  be  called  by  his  surname 
only,  till  he  be  invested  with  his  first  degree,  except  he  be  a  fellow 
commoner  or  knight's  eldest  son,  or  of  superior  nobility."  In  order 
to  receive  his  first  degree  a  student  had  to  be  able  to  translate  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  into  Latin,  and  all  his  acts  must  have  re- 
ceived the  approbation  of  the  overseers.  Tobacco  was  not  allowed 
except  by  permission  of  the  President,  with  consent  of  the  parent  or 
guardian,  "and  then  in  a  sober  and  private  manner."  It  was  also 
voted  that  every  student  must  be  in  his  room  by  nine  o'clock  under 
penalty  of  a  fine,  and  no  one  could  go  to  Boston  except  by  special 
permission  without  being  subject  to  a  five  dollar  penalty. 

In  1656  the  President  and  Fellows  were  empowered  "to  punish  all 
misdemeanours — either  by  fine,  or  whipping  in  the  hall  openly,  as 
the  nature  of  the  offense  shall  require,  not  exceeding  ten  shillings,  or 
ten  stripes  for  one  offense."  The  flogging  often  took  place  in  public, 
but  this  practice  was  abolished  in  1734.  Here  are  some  of  the  early 
fines.  Absence  from  prayers,  %d.;  absence  from  public  worship,  9c?., 
and  tardiness  3d. ;  neglecting  to  repeat  the  sermon,  9d. ;  leaving  town 
without  permission,  not  over  %s.  6d.;  going  out  of  college  without 
proper  costume,  6d.\  frequenting  taverns,  not  over  Is.  Qd.\  playing 
cards  or  any  game  for  money  was  a  finable  offence,  as  was  opening 
doors  by  picklocks.  Fines  were  also  levied  for  keeping  guns,  or  for 
using  them.  This  system  of  penalties  proved  so  annoying  to  the 
parents  that  it  was  abolished  in  1761,  and  methods  of  enforcing  dis- 

[  17  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 


cipline  were  employed  which  resemble  the  present  day  "probation," 
"suspension,"  or  "expulsion." 

There  were  some  "Ancient  Customs"  that  were  lived  up  to  even 
more  strictly  than  the  regular  laws,  and  some  of  them  are  most  inter- 
esting and  amusing.     No  Freshman  was  allowed  to  wear  his  hat  in 

the  college  yard„  unless  it 
rained,  snowed,  or  hailed, 
or  unless  he  had  both 
hands  full.  All  Freshmen 
were  obliged  to  go  on  any 
errand  for  any  of  the  upper 
classmen  at  any  time  ex- 
cept during  study  hours, 
and  after  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  No  student 
was  allowed  to  call  up  or 
down,  or  to  or  from,  any 
of  the  college  rooms. 
Another  hard  rule  on  the 
Freshmen  was  that  they 
had  to  furnish  bats,  balls 
and  footballs  for  the  use 
of  students,  to  be  kept  at 
the  "buttery." 

Towards  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  candi- 
dates for  admission  were 
examined  by  the  Presi- 
dent and  two  of  the  tutors. 
All  undergraduates  had  to 
keep  in  their  rooms  and 
follow  their  studies,  except 
for  half  an  hour  after 
breakfast,  between  twelve 
and  two  o'clock,  and  after 
evening  prayers  until  nine 
o'clock.  The  students  also 
had  to  submit  to  one  public 
oral  examination  annually, 
in  the  presence  of  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Corporation 
and  Overseers,  in  order  "  to 
animate  the  students  in  the  pursuit  of  literary  merit  and  fame,  and  to 
excite  in  their  breasts  a  noble  spirit  of  emulation."  Those  tests  must 
have  been  even  more  nerve  racking  than  the  present  three  hour  written 
examinations.  No  one  was  allowed  to  go  beyond  the  yard  without 
his  coat,  cloak  or  gown,  and  hat,  nor  could  he  go  into  any  tavern  in 
Cambridge  without  leave  of  the  President  or  one  of  the  tutors,  unless 
he  were  accompanied  by  his  father  or  guardian.  No  undergraduate 
could  go  gunning,  fishing  or  skating  over  deep  water  without  permis- 
sion, nor  could  he  attend  any  stage  plays  either  as  actor  or  spectator. 

[  18  ] 


,.7.       Cf  i^-l^^^^Ss 


Reproduction  of  a  photograph  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Gil- 
man  from  a  picture  in  "  Fair  Harvard  "  room.  A  memorial 
in  the  form  of  a  tower  room  has  been  erected  in  the  Unita- 
rian church  of  Charleston  in  his  memory. 


SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON  EVENTS 

A  costume  was  prescribed  for  all  undergraduates  which  consisted  of 
a  "coat  of  blue  gray,  with  waistcoat  and  breeches  of  the  same  colour, 
or  of  a  black,  a  nankeen,  or  an  olive  colour."  The  coats  of  the  Fresh- 
men had  to  have  plain  buttonholes,  and  the  cuffs  could  not  have  any 
buttons  on  them.  The  Sophomores  were  allowed  the  privilege  of 
having  buttons  on  their  cuffs.  The  coats  of  the  Juniors  had  "cheap 
frogs  to  the  button  holes,  except  the  button  holes  of  the  cuffs,"  and 
the  Seniors  could  have  "frogs"  on  all  their  buttonholes.     The  buttons 


ROOM    IN    WHICH   "FAIR   HARVARD"   WAS   WRITTEN    IN    1836. 

This  room  is  in  the  old  Fay  House,  now  occupied  by  Radcliffe  College,  Cambridge.  Rev. 
Samuel  Gilman,  the  author  of  the  poem,  was  born  in  Gloucester,  and  when  he  came  from  his 
parish  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  visit  his  brother-in-law,  Judge  Fay,  who  then  lived  in 
this  house,  to  attend  the  200th  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  Harvard  College,  he  wrote  "Fair 
Harvard"  to  commemorate  the  event. 

This  room  is  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  second  story.  In  this  house  at  one  time  lived 
Edward  Everett.  While  it  was  owned  by  Judge  Fay,  Longfellow,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  Story 
the  sculptor,  James  Russell  Lowell,  and  other  famous  men  were  guests  of  his  here. 


of  all  the  classes  had  to  be  nearly  the  same  colour  as  the  coats.  No 
garment  made  of  silk  was  permitted,  nor  gold  or  silver  lace,  cord  or 
edging  upon  hats  or  clothes.  Another  rule  provided  that  "the  tables 
shall  be  covered  with  clean  cloths  twice  a  week,  or  oftener,  if  judged 
necessary  by  the  President  and  Tutors." 

Commencement  took  place  on  the  third  Wednesday  in  July,  and 
Cambridge  in  the  early  days  was  never  so  deserted  during  the  summer 
as  it  is  now.  In  the  early  eighteen  hundreds  Commencement  Day  was 
a  State  holiday,  all  the  banks  and  offices  in  Boston  being  closed. 

The  dining-room,  which  used  to  be  in  University  Hall,  was  the 
largest  in  New  England,  accommodating  two  hundred  persons.     It 

[  19  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

gained  great  celebrity  on  account  of  its  ability  to  take  care  of  so  many 
students.  The  food  that  wasn't  eaten  or  that  couldn't  be  eaten  was 
shared  by  a  number  of  pigs,  whose  sties  were  near  the  rear  of  the 
building.  The  charge  for  board  at  "Commons"  was  $1.75  a  week, 
and  it  couldn't  be  expected  that  meat  could  be  served  at  every  meal. 
The  students,  therefore,  frequently  saved  some  of  their  meat  and 
with  a  fork  jammed  it  against  the  under  side  of  the  table  to  help 
out  at  breakfast  the  following  morning.  Board  at  private  houses  or 
at  some  of  the  professors'  residences  was  three  dollars,  and  if  a  stu- 
dent received  a  high  mark  or  an  honor  from  the  tutor  with  whom  he  was 
boarding  his  other  jealous  classmates  attributed  it  to  undue  influence. 
In  the  early  days  the  tuition  charges  were  frequently  paid  in  live 
stock,  grain,  or  groceries. 

GOVERNOR  WINTHROP  TREATS  WITH  LaTOUR  AND  THE 
SUBSEQUENT  ARRIVAL  OF  D'AULNAY 

John  Winthrop  had  just  been  chosen  Governor  for  the  fourth  time 
when  Charles  LaTour,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  French  Colony  of 
Acadia,  visited  Boston  with  the  object  of  securing  the  help  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony  in  fighting  his  rival,  D'Aulnay,  who  had  his 
headquarters  at  Port  Royal,  New  Brunswick,  near  LaTour's  Fort, 
which  was  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  present  city  of  St.  John. 

The  Frenchman's  arrival  in  Boston,  in  June,  1643,  astonished  the 
inhabitants  as  he  sailed  past  the  fort  and  dropped  anchor  before  the 
townspeople  realized  what  was  happening.  The  soldiers  had  just 
been  ordered  to  leave  the  fort  a  short  time  before,  and  LaTour  could 
easily  have  captured  the  two  ships-of-war  in  the  harbour  and  then 
made  trouble  for  the  Bostonians.  This  fort,  which  was  on  Castle 
Island,  was  at  once  strengthened  and  manned.  On  his  way  in  he 
chanced  to  meet  a  Mrs.  Gibbons  in  a  rowboat,  and  one  of  the  sailors 
with  LaTour  recognized  her  and  followed  her  to  Governors  Island, 
the  home  of  the  Winthrops.  The  Governor  was  there  at  the  time, 
and  he  escorted  LaTour  to  Boston,  where  he  was  given  a  splendid  re- 
ception. The  Frenchman  showed  his  papers  from  the  King  of  France 
and  further  won  the  Governor's  confidence  by  attending  church  with 
him  on  Sunday.  The  visitors  were  granted  shore  leave  provided 
they  landed  in  small  companies  "that  our  women  might  not  be 
affrighted  by  them,"  and  they  then  paraded  on  the  Common  with 
the  State  militia.  One  amusing  incident  happened  while  the 
Frenchmen  were  on  land;  one  of  them  saw  a  drunkard  in  the 
stocks  and  immediately  went  up  to  him  and  let  him  out,  only  to  find 
himself  in  the  stocks  in  short  order.  LaTour  suggested  that  Governor 
Winthrop  should  grant  him  authority  to  hire  four  vessels  to  act  as  his 
escort  back  to  his  fort.  The  Governor  granted  this  request,  although 
many  people  in  the  Colony  opposed  his  decision.  The  ships  put  to 
sea  on  July  14.  Although  it  was  agreed  that  LaTour  should  not 
compel  his  little  fleet  to  fight,  nevertheless  his  sudden  and  warlike 
appearance  frightened  D'Aulnay  into  retreat.  LaTour  found  thirty 
volunteers,  and  they  attacked  his  rival,  capturing  one  of  his  ships. 
LaTour's  wife  persuaded  him  to  make  a  second  visit  to  Boston  and 

[  20  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

implore  aid,  and  in  his  absence  the  garrison  was  attacked  by  D'Aulnay, 
and  all  the  survivors,  who  made  a  gallant  defence,  were  taken  prisoners, 
Madame  LaTour  among  them.     Three  weeks  later  she  died. 

D'Aulnay  then  sent  three  messengers  to  Massachusetts  to  demand 
reparation  for  having  rendered  assistance  to  his  enemy  and  asked 
an  indemnity  of  £8,000.  The  magistrates  of  the  Colony  insisted  that 
they  only  permitted  LaTour  to  hire  the  ships.  During  their  visit 
the  messengers  were  shown  such  attention  and  were  treated  with 
so  much  ceremony  that  this  large  demand  was  finally  reduced  by 
agreement  to  "a  small  present  in  satisfaction. "  Some  one  remarked 
at  the  time  that  "the  Government  had  to  look  as  if  it  could  pay  it  if  it 
had  to."  A  treaty  was  signed,  and  Governor  Winthrop  presented  the 
Frenchmen  with  a  sedan  chair,  which  had  just  been  given  to  him, 
and  which  the  Governor  declared  was  of  no  value  to  him!  A  salute 
of  five  guns  from  Boston,  three  from  Charlestown  and  five  from 
Castle  Island  sent  them  home  quite  contented  and  forgetful  of  the 
£8,000  demand.  Several  years  later  D'Aulnay  was  drowned  while 
canoeing  near  Port  Royal,  leaving  his  wife  to  fight  his  old  rival  Charles 
LaTour.  The  latter  through  treachery  soon  captured  her  fort  and 
compelled  her  to  marry  him  in  order  to  protect  herself  and  her  eight 
children.  LaTour  died  much  in  debt  and  owing  large  sums  of  money 
to  his  friends  in  this  Colony. 

This  controversy  is  also  interesting  as  it  showed  very  clearly  that 
Massachusetts  even  at  this  early  date  took  the  attitude  of  an  abso- 
lutely independent  government  in  dealing  with  foreign  powers. 

SOME   INTERESTING   EVENTS   ON   BOSTON   COMMON 

The  Common  is  owned  by  the  people  of  Boston.  On  thp  Hay  nf 
General  Sheridan's  funeral,  in  1888,  the  Mayor  of  Boston  granted  a 
permit  to  a  battery  of  the  State  Militia  to  fire  a  salute  on  the  Common. 
A  gentleman  was  driving  his  buggy  along  Charles  Street,  and  his  horse 
became  frightened  by  the  noise  and  ran  away,  throwing  out  the  driver 
and  seriously  injuring  him.  He  then  brought  suit  against  the  City, 
alleging  it  to  be  the  owner  of  the  Common,  but  Judge  Holmes  decided 
v  that  the  City  couldn't  be  held  liable  for  the  reason  that  it  had  only  a 
V' technical"  title  and  merely  held  the  Common  for  the  public  benefit. 
The  people  have  made  many  uses  of  their  property.  Dr.  Hale 
relates  that  the  Common  was  used  in  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  as  a  pasture  for  cows,  as  a  playground  for  children,  as  a  place 
for  beating  carpets,  and  as  a  training  ground  for  the  militia.  In  1822 
housekeepers  had  to  give  up  beating  their  carpets,  because  a  law  was 
passed  prohibiting  it.  The  repeal  of  the  privilege  brought  forth  an 
amusing  newspaper  article  entitled  "The  Last  Shake." 

In  the  early  days  the  Common  was  the  chief  place  for  executions, 
and  many  unfortunates  were  presumably  hanged  from  the  branches 
of  the  "Old  Elm"  for  murder,  witchcraft,  Quakerism,  and  even  theft; 
but  in  1812  executions  on  the  Common  were  abolished.  Indians  and 
pirates  have  been  hanged  and  shot,  soldiers  have  been  killed  for  deser- 
tion, and,  during  Governor  Hancock's  administration,  a  woman  called 
Rachell  Whall  was  strung  up  for  stealing  a  bonnet  worth  seventy -five 

[  21  ] 


o 


o  a 

£1 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

cents.  Some  years  previous  another  woman  was  hanged  for  murder. 
The  first  execution  for  witchcraft  in  Boston  was  that  of  Margaret 
Jones,  who  was  accused  of  possessing  imps.  Mary  Parsons  was  hanged 
a  few  years  later,  and  then  Mrs.  Ann  Hibbins,  who  was  supposed  to 
be  a  sister  of  Governor  Bellingham,  shared  the  same  fate.  It  is 
believed  her  husband  lost  so  much  money  that  she  became  ugly  and 
quarrelsome,  causing  her  neighbors  to  accuse  her  of  witchcraft.  Many 
Quakers,  including  women,  have  met  their  death  bravely  under  the 
"Old  Elm,"  a  graft  of  which  is  now  growing  near  the  Frog  Pond. 
The  last  Quaker  victim  was  a  woman  called  Goody  Glover,  who  was 
accused  of  bewitching  the  four  children  of  John  Goodwin. 

There  were  many  interesting  rules  restricting  the  use  of  the  Com- 
mon. People  were  not  allowed  to  walk  or  ride  a  horse  here  on  Sunday, 
no  matter  how  warm  the  weather  might  be,  but  both  were  permitted 
on  week  days.  After  1822  horseback  riding  and  driving  were  not 
allowed  without  a  permit  from  the  Mayor  and  aldermen.  There  was 
also  a  law  to  prevent  Sunday  bathing  at  the  foot  of  the  Common, 
which  brought  out  the  following  verses  in  the  Centinel: — 

"In  superstitious  days,  'tis  said, 
Hens  laid  two  eggs  on  Monday, 
Because  a  hen  would  lose  her  head 
That  laid  an  egg  on  Sunday. 

"Now  our  wise  rulers  and  the  law 
Say  none  shall  wash  on  Sunday; 
So  Boston  folks  must  dirty  go, 

And  wash  them  twice  on  Monday." 

Skating,  of  course,  was  likewise  forbidden  on  the  Sabbath,  and  for 
many  years  smoking  in  the  street  was  also  prohibited  at  any  time. 

Cows  were  allowed  to  graze  on  the  Common  as  recently  as  within 
eighty-six  years,  and  there  is  still  a  restriction  on  one  of  the  lots  of 
land  on  Mt.  Vernon  Street,  which  obliges  the  owner  of  the  property 
on  the  opposite  side  of  this  street  always  to  keep  a  passageway  to 
a  pasturage  near  the  Common  of  suitable  size  to  admit  a  cow.  Only 
one  such  animal  could  be  grazed  by  one  person,  a  man  being  chosen 
especially  to  "keep  the  cowes  which  goe  on  the  Common,"  for  a  fee 
of  2s.  6d.  per  head.  With  a  little  imagination  we  can  see  Benjamin 
Franklin  driving  his  father's  cow  home  from  here  every  night.  Cows 
were  often  a  menace  to  people  walking  or  riding,  and  one  fatal  acci- 
dent happened  in  1661,  when  General  Humphrey  Atherton,  on  his 
way  home  after  reviewing  his  troops,  ran  into  a  cow  with  such  force 
that  he  was  thrown  from  his  horse  and  killed. 

The  Common  has  always  been  used  as  a  parade  ground  and  place 
for  celebrations  of  all  kinds,  besides  being  the  site  of  one  of  the  British 
fortifications  during  the  siege  of  Boston.  According  to  Dr.  Edward 
Everett  Hale  the  circles  made  on  the  Common  by  the  British  tents 
could  be  traced  in  the  grass  while  he  was  a  boy,  and  the  trenches  dug 
by  the  English  soldiers  were  still  used  with  great  joy  by  the  boys  of 
his  time  when  playing  soldier.  It  is  related  that  the  Redcoats  used 
to  race  their  horses  on  the  Common  on  Sundays  and  that  they  played 
*  Yankee  Doodle"  outside  the  church  doors  during  services,  both  to 

[  23  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

the  disgust  of  the  inhabitants.  It  is  also  recorded  that  Dorothy 
Quincy  used  to  complain  that  the  morning  exercises  of  Earl  Percy's  I 
troops  interrupted  her  beauty  sleep.  While  the  British  were  in  their 
encampment  here,  several  floating  batteries  crept  along  the  shore 
of  the  Common  and  fired  upon  the  enemy,  doing  considerable  damage; 
and  it  was  from  this  same  shore  that  the  English  troops  embarked 
for  Lexington  the  evening  before  the  battle.  It  was  also  near  here 
where  we  read  that  Colonel  Thomas  H.  Perkins  and  others  used  to 
go  snipe  shooting.  While  the  English  occupied  the  Common  many 
a  Bostonian  probably  found  that  his  cow  had  "gone  dry"  when  he 
came  to  milk  her;  there  is  an  anecdote,  however,  which  shows  that 
at  least  one  cow  got  even  with  the  Britishers.  She  ran  into  a  stack 
of  bayonets,  one  of  which  penetrated  her  body  sufficiently  to  enable 
her  to  run  away  with  it. 

The  boys  had  their  famous  coast  along  Park  Street,  until  one  day 
General  Gage's  soldiers  destroyed  their  slides,  thereby  causing  a  great 
protest  to  be  made.  The  General  asked  them  if  their  fathers  had  been 
teaching  them  rebellion,  but  at  the  same  time  he  evidently  admired 
their  "love  of  liberty"  and  ordered  that  their  sport  should  not  be 
interfered  with  again.  Some  years  later  wooden  bridges  for  pedes- 
trians were  erected  over  the  slides  to  prevent  accidents. 

During  the  Civil  Wrar  the  headquarters  of  the  Recruiting  Commit- 
tee were  on  Flagstaff  Hill  on  the  Common,  and  many  speeches  were 
made  urging  men  to  enlist.  On  one  occasion  one  young  fellow  de- 
clared that  he  would  enlist  even  if  he  were  a  "paralyzed  corpse," 
which  remark  brought  forth  loud  cheers  and  many  recruits.  In 
1862  a  Great  War  Meeting  and  Parade  were  held  on  the  Common, 
speeches  being  made  by  Governor  Andrew,  Edward  Everett, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop  and  others. 

Many  celebrations  have  been  held  here,  but  they  are  too  numerous 
to  receive  more  than  a  brief  mention.  The  "Repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act"  caused  Captain  Paddock's  Artillery  to  roar  out  a  salute,  fol- 
lowed by  fireworks  and  illuminations;  Cornwallis'  surrender  was 
celebrated  by  a  huge  bonfire,  and  a  few  years  later  Peace  was  pro- 
claimed by  cannon  and  fireworks;  also  the  Bunker  Hill  procession, 
in  which  Lafayette  participated,  described  elsewhere,  had  its  starting 
place  here.  On  these  grounds,  too,  met  the  Great  Whig  Convention 
presided  over  by  Daniel  Webster,  and  the  Grand  Mass  Washingtonian 
Convention  of  May,  1844.  Another  event  was  the  Cochituate  Water 
Celebration  around  the  Frog  Pond  while  Josiah  Quincy  was  Mayor, 
when,  as  the  last  lines  of  Hon.  Robert  S.  Rantoul's  poem  reads, 
"Boston  claims  her  destined  bride,  the  fair  Cochituate,  as  Quincy 
turns  the  water,  in  eighteen  forty-eight."  The  Frog  Pond  was  also 
called  "Crescent  Pond"  or  "Quincy  Lake." 

In  1851  a  three  days'  Grand  Railroad  Jubilee,  which  included  a 
parade  and  dinner,  was  held  to  commemorate  the  opening  of  com- 
munication between  Boston  and  Canada,  and  some  years  later  the 
Prince  of  Wales  was  entertained  with  a  military  review.  When 
General  Lee's  army  surrendered  bells  pealed,  steam  engines  screeched 
through  the  streets,  and  cannon  again  boomed.  The  parade  at  the 
time  of  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was 

[  24  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

71  also  formed  here.  It  was  in  1877  that  the  Army  and  Navy  Monu- 
iment  on  Flagstaff  Hill  was  dedicated,  and  we  must  not  forget  the 
'|  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  that  have  taken  place;  nor  must  we  omit 
rll several  Indian  war  dances,  the  last  of  which  took  place  in  1837,  which 
e| caused  about  70,000  to  assemble  to  watch  the  antics.  The  Indians 
^  left  the  city  in  open  barouches,  sitting  all  over  the  vehicles  and 
rtU  wielding  their  war  weapons.  We  should  also  record  several  Temper- 
lance  parades,  one  of  which  in  1844  was  composed  of  the  boys  and 
)§ girls  of  Boston,  usually  referred  to  as  the  "Cold  Water  Army,"  which 
e| marched  to  the  Frog  Pond  and  gave  "three  cheers  for  Cold  Water." 
'■Many  people  signed  the  pledge  on  this  occasion.  Here  also  many 
I  military  organizations  were  wont  to  drill,  including  the  oldest  order 
Jin  the  United  States,  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company. 
The  Rev.  George  Whitefield  visited  Boston  in  1740,  and  as  the 

I  churches  couldn't  accommodate  the  number  of  people  who  wanted 
to  hear  him,  he  decided  to  preach  on  Boston  Common.     Twenty 

i  thousand    persons    heard  his  farewell    sermon,    among    whom  was 

H  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  determined  he  wouldn't  give  a  cent  when 

I  it  should  be  time  to  take  up  the  collection.     The  preacher  was  so 

convincing  and   so  eloquent  that   Franklin  ended   by  handing  over 

H  every  cent  he  had  with  him.     A  negro  on  the  Common  mistook 

II  some  one  for  Whitefield,  and,  falling  on  the  ground  and  rolling  over, 
I  exclaimed,  "Oh,  Massa  Whitefield!"  He  learned  his  mistake,  and 
I  as  he  hurriedly  rose  to  his  feet,  said,  "Oh,  den  I'se  gone  dirtied  myself 
I  all  for  nothin'." 

A  unique  event  connected  with  the  Common  was  the  spinning  com- 
petition in  the  year  1720,  which  was  held  daily  in  the  open  air  before 
throngs  of  spectators,  the  women  of  the  town,  rich  and  poor,  vying 
with  each  other  in  their  speed  in  handling  their  newly  imported 
machines.  The  fad  continued  for  some  time,  and  a  Spinning  School 
was  built.  It  is  a  curious  thing  that  the  Irish-Scotch  spinners  who 
introduced  these  spinning-wheels  also  taught  us  the  value  of  the 
potato,  which  had  been  hitherto  almost  unknown. 

On  part  of  the  Common  a  rich  harvest  of  hay  was  often  reaped, 
and  on  one  occasion  we  read  that  Deacon  Sullivan  hired  a  well-known 
bell-crier  to  go  round  to  the  different  schools  and  lead  the  children 
over  to  the  pasturage  to  "enjoy  the  new  mown  hay."  During  the  rav- 
ages of  smallpox  the  Common  was  also  a  convenient  place  on  which 
to  air  the  clothes  of  the  victims,  there  evidently  being  no  Board  of 
Health  in  Boston  at  that  time.  About  sixty  years  ago  an  announce- 
ment appeared  in  the  papers  that  a  cave  had  been  discovered,  which 
drew  a  large  number  of  people  who  paid  a  small  entrance  fee  to  see 
the  new  curiosity.  After  a  short  time  some  one  in  the  crowd  remem- 
bered that  it  was  April  1. 

The  Common  has  always  been  a  recreation  ground,  and  many 
famous  football  and  baseball  games  have  here  been  fought  out.  Mr. 
James  D'Wolf  Lovett's  book,  entitled  "Old  Boston  Boys,"  gives  a 
vivid  idea  of  the  sports  on  the  Common  fifty  or  so  years  ago.  The 
Latin  School  team  had  many  games  with  the  Dixwell  School,  and  the 
famous  Lowell  Baseball  Club,  organized  by  Mr.  John  A.  Lowell, 
fought  it  out  with  the  Trimountains,  Bowdoins,  Olympics,  Rocking- 

[  25] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

hams,  Athletics,  Harvards,  Elm  Trees  and  Hancocks.  In  these 
games  the  runner  had  to  be  hit  by  the  ball  to  be  put  out,  stakes  were 
used  as  bases,  and  foul  balls  were  considered  as  hits.  Sometimes  as 
many  as  seventy  or  eighty  runs  were  scored.  The  older  men  in  Boston 
to-day  remember  with  delight  the  home  run  "hit"  made  by  Thomas 
Nelson,  which  soared  over  Flagstaff  Hill  towards  West  Street.  One 
legend  describes  this  ball  as  having  rolled  down  West  Street  and 
then  bounced  on  board  a  horse-car,  which  took  it  out  to  the  Norfolk 
House.  In  the  year  1869  probably  for  the  first  time  baseball  influenced 
a  Mayor's  election.  The  Common  was  ploughed  up,  and  the  ball 
players,  fearing  they  would  be  permanently  deprived  of  its  use,  entered 
politics  and  helped  to  elect  a  Mayor  and  aldermen  who  would  be 
favorably  disposed  to  the  use  of  the  Common  as  a  playground.  The 
"Baseball"  ticket,  with  a  red  baseball  printed  at  the  top,  won,  and 
Mayor  Shurtleff  was  elected.  Coasting  was  popular  in  these  days,  and 
the  sleds  were  almost  as  well  known  among  the  younger  generation 
as  race  horses  and  yachts;  the  "Comet,"  owned  by  Dr.  Frank  Wells, 
the  "Eagle,"  belonging  to  James  Lovett,  "Multum  in  Parvo,"  the 
property  of  Francis  Peabody,  and  the  "Tuscaloosa,"  handled  by 
Horatio  G.  Curtis,  being  a  few  of  the  "race  horses"  of  the  day.  "Old 
Boston  Boys"  also  tells  of  an  amusing  incident  that  happened  on  one 
of  the  Beacon  Hill  coasts.  A  colored  washerwoman  of  large  propor- 
tions with  her  basket  on  her  head  was  caught  by  a  sled  and  deposited 
astride  the  coaster,  who  continued  down  the  hill  faster  than  ever. . 
During  the  whole  length  of  the  slide  she  cuffed  the  frightened  boy 
over  the  ears  for  having  upset  her. 

The  Circus  used  to  pitch  its  tent  on  the  Public  Garden,  and  the 
great  drawing  card  with  the  Boston  boys  was  the  announcement 
that  at  a  certain  hour  the  elephants  would  bathe  in  the  Frog  Pond. 
A  great  feat  of  skill  was  to  vault  the  high  iron  picket  fence  when 
the  policeman  was  not  looking  and  thereby  gain  admittance  without 
charge  on  the  day  of  some  celebration. 

Many  of  the  older  generation  who  went  to  Mr.  Sullivan's  school 
in  the  basement  of  Park  Street  Church  remember  with  sorrow  the 
old  blind  cigar  man  who  stood  near  the  corner  of  Park  and  Tremont 
Streets  and  sold  what  he  called  "cinnamon"  cigars,  warranted  harm- 
less and  suitable  for  beginners ;  but,  as  they  were  made  of  real  tobacco 
and  merely  dipped  in  cinnamon,  the  effect  was  not  as  advertised. 

Almost  every  boy  "ran"  with  his  particular  engine  and  endeavored 
to  have  his  "tub"  win  in  the  "playouts"  on  the  Common,  his  Captain 
shouting  to  him  meanwhile  to  "shake  it  out  of  her,"  or  "just 
one  foot  further,  if  you  love  me!",  or  other  appropriate  remarks. 
When  one  of  the  loyal  firemen  died  his  last  request  was  to  cut  off  his 
ears  and  bury  them  under  the  engine  house,  so  that  he  could  hear 
the  old  machine  rattle  as  she  rolled  out. 

THE  FIRST  NEWSPAPER  IN  AMERICA 

The  first  newspaper  printed  in  America,  entitled  Publick  Occurrences, 
Both  Forreign  and  Domestick,  appeared  in  Boston  on  September  25, 
1690.     It  was  a  sheet  of  four  pages,  seven  inches  by  eleven,  with  two 

[  26  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON  EVENTS 

columns  on  a  page,  and  was  printed  "By  R.  Pierce  for  Benjamin 
Harris,  at  the  London  Coffee  House,  1690."  The  editor  announced 
[that  it  was  issued  in  order  "that  the  people  may  better  understand 
public  affairs,  that  important  occurrences  shall  not  be  forgotten,"  and 
In  order  "that  something  may  be  done  towards  the  Curing,  or  at  least 
Ihe  Charming  of  that  Spirit  of  Lying,  which  prevails  among  us." 
[The  introductory  paragraph  reads,  "It  is  designed  that  the  countrey 
Ihall  be  furnished  once  a  month  (or  if  any  Glut  of  occurrences  happen 
bftener)  with  an  Account  of  such  considerable  things  as  have  arrived 
Lnto  our  Notice."  It  then  went  on  to  say  that  the  editor  would  "  take 
bains  to  get  a  faithful  relation  of  things  and  hopes  observers  will 
rommunicate  of  such  matters  as  fall  under  their  notice."  And, 
further,  the  publisher  proposes  to  correct  false  reports,  and  to  expose 
(the  "First  Raiser"  of  them,  and  he  also  adds  that  he  thinks  "none 
kvill  dislike  this  Proposal,  but  such  as  intend  to  be  guilty  of  so  villianous 
a  Crime."  Mention  is  made  of  the  Indians  of  Plymouth;  of  the  fact 
that  two  children  of  Chelmsford  had  been  stolen  by  the  Indians;  of 
the  three  hundred  and  thirty  deaths  in  Boston  from  smallpox;  of 
a  fire  near  the  South  Meeting  House;  and  of  the  murder  of  the  crew 
bf  a  vessel  near  Penobscot  by  Indians  and  French.  There  is  also  an 
account  of  Governor  Winthrop's  expedition  to  Canada,  and  other 
interesting  news.  Only  one  issue  of  the  paper  appeared.  The 
authorities  ordered  Publick  Occurrences  discontinued,  as  they  believed 
ft  contained  "reflections  of  a  very  high  nature,"  and  the  Court,  in 
11662,  forbade  "any  thing  in  print  without  license  being  first  obtained 
prom  those  appointed  by  the  government  to  grant  the  same."  The 
people  were  not  yet  ready  for  a  free  press. 

Only  one  copy  of  this  paper  has  ever  been  discovered,  and  it  is  now 
in  the  Colonial  State  Paper  Office,  in  London.  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Green 
some  years  ago  took  a  copy  of  it,  which  may  be  seen  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society  rooms.  Many  of  the  papers  issued  since 
this  time  are  not  any  better  than  was  this  "First  Newspaper." 

The  first  regular  newspaper  was  The  Boston  News  Letter,  which 
appeared  in  April,  1704,  and  which  gives  the  history  of  the  town  for 
the  next  seventy  years.  It  was  issued  by  John  Campbell,  who  was 
Postmaster  of  Boston,  and  printed  by  Bartholomew  Green  in  a  build- 
ing on  Washington  Street  near  the  east  corner  of  Avon  Street. 

CAPTAIN  KIDD  ARRESTED  AND  JAILED  IN  BOSTON 

Lord  Bellamont  in  London,  before  his  departure  for  America  to 
become  Governor  of  the  New  York  and  the  New  England  Colonies, 
commissioned  Captain  Kidd,  at  the  suggestion  of  Robert  Livingston, 
a  New  York  merchant,  to  destroy  piracy  along  the  American  coast. 
Captain  Kidd  was  undoubtedly  himself  a  pirate,  although  he  had 
once  been  an  officer  in  the  British  navy  and  later  had  commanded 
one  of  Livingston's  merchant  ships.  He  was  a  Scotchman.  It  is 
quite  apparent  that  Lord  Bellamont  made  this  selection  with  the  old 
adage  in  mind,  "Set  a  rogue  to  catch  a  rogue." 

The  pirate  captain  sailed  in  his  Adventure  Galley  in  December  of 
the  year  1697  with  instructions  to  cruise  only  against  the  King's 

[  27  ] 


\ 


CAPTAIN   KIDD  HANGING   IN 
CHAINS. 

From  an  old  print  in  "The  Pirates  Own 
Book  or  Authentic  Narratives  of  the  Lives, 
Exploits  and  Executions  of  the  Most  Cele- 
brated Sea  Robbers." 

"  My  Lord,  it  is  a  very  hard  sentence,"  said 
Kidd,  when  asked  why  sentence  should  not  be 
passed  against  him.  "For  my  part,  I  am  the 
most  innocent  person  of  them  all,  only  I  have 
been  sworn  against  by  perjured  persons."  He 
was  executed  on  Execution  Dock,  England, 
and  hung  up  in  chains  some  distance  down 
the  river. 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

enemies.  Instead  of  suppressing  piracy,  however,  he  captured  the 
Quedah  Merchant,  belonging  to  the  Great  Mogul,  and  on  his  return  to 
Long  Island  sent  word  to  Bellamont,  who  was  now  in  Boston,  that 

he  would  be  glad  to  come  on  and 
explain  his  actions.  He  arrived  in 
Boston  with  his  wife  and  maid  ser- 
vant in  June,  1699,  on  his  sloop 
the  Antonia,  and  put  up  at  Camp- 
bell's, which  was  the  most  luxu- 
rious hotel  in  Boston  at  this  time, 
Governor  Bellamont  himself  having 
stayed  there  a  short  time  before. 
On  his  arrival  he  was  examined 
before  the  Council  in  the  Old  State 
House,  but  his  explanations  were 
so  unsatisfactory  that  he  was  ar- 
rested on  July  7  and  jailed  in  the 
Old  Prison  on  Court  Street,  where 
the  new  wing  of  the  City  Hall 
now  stands,  the  same  prison  which 
confined  the  witchcraft  victims. 
Captain  Kidd  suggested  to  Lord 
Bellamont  that  he  should  go  back 
while  still  a  prisoner  to  his  capt- 
ured treasure  ship  and  that  he 
and  Bellamont  should  divide  the 
$300,000  of  valuables  which  the 
Captain  said  were  on  board.  The 
Governor's  connection  with  Captain 
Kidd  was  already  none  too  credit- 
able, and  it  was  fortunate  indeed 
for  him  that  he  turned  down  the 
offer.  The  hillsides  of  Southern 
Rhode  Island  and  the  waters  of  the 
Hudson  River  have  been  searched, 
but  nothing  has  been  discovered  of 
Kidd's  treasures  except  an  old  chest 
whic^i  was  found  on  Gardiner's  Island,  just  off  the  end  of  Long 
Island,  where  Captain  Kidd  landed  in  1699.  Lord  Bellamont  sent 
commissioners  to  dig  up  these  buried  treasures,  and  an  inventory  was 
made  of  the  articles  that  were  found,  which  is  said  to  be  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Gardiner  family  who  now  own  the  island. 

It  was  now  a  question  what  to  do  with  the  pirate,  as  it  was  discovered 
that  the  laws  of  the  Province  were  insufficient  to  execute  criminals 
guilty  of  piracy.  Two  other  brigands  had  escaped  from  this  same 
prison,  and  Governor  Bellamont  more  than  once  wished  his  prisoners 
were  safely  lodged  in  Newgate  jail.  An  English  frigate,  the  Advice, 
took  Captain  Kidd  back  to  England,  arriving  in  April,  1700.  He  was 
imprisoned  for  a  long  time,  was  tried  for  both  murder  and  piracy  and 
then  hanged.  He  died  hard.  The  rope  broke  the  first  time,  but  the 
second  attempt  proved  successful.     He  committed  the  murder  at  sea, 

[  28  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

he  victim  being  his  gunner,  whom  he  killed  by  striking  with  a  water 
bucket. 

The  pirates'   song  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  Benjamin 
franklin  is  worth  quoting.     Ned  Teach  was  another  well-known  rover 

»f  the  seas. 

"Then  each  man  to  his  gun 
For  the  work  must  be  done, 
With  cutlass,  sword,  or  pistol; 
And  when  we  no  longer  can  strike  a  blow, 
Then  fire  the  magazine,  boys,  and  up  we  go. 
It  is  better  to  swim  in  the  sea  below 
Than  to  hang  in  the  air,  and  to  feed  the  crow, 
Said  Jolly  Ned  Teach  of  Bristol." 


VXVK     ARCH      BUYS     ()  r    'i'H£      HOST 

i*T    IT  2  2  &  ni*  to  1  828    mohb  thas!: 


Keys  to  jail  on  Queen  Street  in  which  Captain  Kidd  was  imprisoned.     Now  in 
the  possession  of  the  Bostonian  Society. 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN   DELIVERS   NEWSPAPERS 

IN    BOSTON 

There  is  something  very  romantic  and  attractive  in  thinking  of 
jBenjamin  Franklin  early  in  his  teens  setting  the  type  of  his  brother 
James'  New  England  C our ant  >  printing  the  sheets  from  the  old  press  now 
in  the  Bostonian  Society  rooms,  and  then  carrying  the  papers  through 
the  streets  to  the  houses  of  his  customers.  He  was  born  on  January 
17,  1706,  in  a  small  house  on  Milk  Street,  where  the  family  resided  for 
a  few  years  until  they  moved  to  the  corner  of  Hanover  and  Union 
Streets.  He  was  the  most  amusing  member  of  the  family.  Once 
when  he  was  watching  his  father,  Josiah,  prepare  the  winter's  supply 
of  salt  fish,  young  Franklin  suggested  that  he  would  save  a  lot  of 
time  if  he  said  grace  over  the  whole  cask  at  once.  His  father  was 
by  trade  a  soap-boiler  and  tallow-chandler,  and  when  his  son  had 
studied  at  the  Latin  School  a  few  years  he  took  him  home  at  the  age 
of  ten  to  assist  him  in  his  own  business.  He  showed  so  little  interest 
in  making  soap  and  candles  that  his  father  decided  to  apprentice 
him  as  a  printer  to  his  elder  son,  James.  Here  Benjamin  found  more 
opportunity  to  read,  the  first  literature  that  came  to  his  notice  being 
"Pilgrim's  Progress"  and  the  Spectator.  It  was  not  long  before 
he  wrote  anonymous  articles  and  shoved  them  surreptitiously  under 
the  door  of  the  printing  room,  and  to  his  great  joy  they  were  printed. 

[  29  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Had  James  realized  that  they  were  from  the  pen  of  his  brother  they 
would  probably  have  found  their  way  into  the  scrap  basket,  as  the 
two  agreed  none  too  well  in  business. 

The  Mathers  didn't  at  all  approve  of  the  Courant;  it  spoke  too  freely, 
and  so  the  Assembly  imprisoned  James  Franklin.  In  the  mean  time 
Benjamin  had  full  charge  of  the  management.  When  the  elder 
brother  had  served  his  term  he  was  discharged  but  ordered  not  to 
print  his  paper  unless  it  were  first  supervised  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Province.  It  was  then  determined  that  the  New  England  Courant  should 
be  issued  under  Benjamin's  name,  and  this  plan  was  carried  out  for 


Bronze  tablet  on  statue  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  Boston  City  Hall  Courtyard. 

about  three  years,  the  imprint  reading,  "Boston,  printed  and  sold  by 
Benjamin  Franklin,  in  Queen  Street,  where  advertisements  are  taken 
in."  The  building  that  was  used  as  his  first  shop  later  became  a 
bookstore,  and  was  ornamented  with  a  head  of  Franklin  for  many 
years,  until  it  was  torn  down.  Over  the  office  was  the  Long  Room 
Club,  where  Adams,  Hancock,  Otis,  Warren,  Church,  Quincy,  Dawes, 
Paul  Revere  and  others  laid  their  plans  for  resisting  the  British. 

The  animosity  between  the  two  brothers  increased,  and  Benjamin 
soon  gave  up  his  position  and  looked  for  another  one  in  some  of  the 
other  printing  houses  in  Boston.  His  brother  had,  however,  gone 
to  these  same  offices  and  prevented  his  getting  any  employment, 
and  in  October,  1723,  he  left  the  city  in  disgust.  Had  he  been 
able  to  find  some  occupation,  Boston  might  have  been  able  to  claim 
him  during  his  whole  life,  instead  of  for  only  his  first  seventeen  years. 

[  30  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

The  town  of  Franklin,  Mass.,  was  named  after  him,  and  books  to 
the  value  of  £25  were  given  by  Benjamin  Franklin  to  be  added  to 
its  library. 

SOME    INTERESTING    EVENTS    IN    CONNECTION    WITH 
CHRIST  CHURCH,  OR  "OLD   NORTH  CHURCH" 

The  Old  North  Church  on  Salem  Street  is  the  oldest  church  in 
Boston  standing  on  its  original  ground,  and  was  the  second  Episcopal 
Church  erected  in  the  town.  For  many  years  its  tall  spire  served  as 
a  landmark  for  vessels  entering  the  harbour.  As  a  boy  Governor 
Phips  dreamed  that  he  would  some  day  become  rich  and  live  on 
Salem  Street,  which  was  then  called  Green  Lane,  and  later  his  dream 
came  true.  The  North  End  was  practically  an  island  at  one  time 
and  was  reached  by  a  bridge  where  Hanover  and  Blackstone  Streets 
now  meet.  In  the  early  days  religious  services  were  held  in  the  Old 
State  House. 

Christ  Church  is  chiefly  noted  for  its  connection  with  the  Revolu- 
tion and  Paul  Revere,  yet  there  is  much  more  history  which,  though 
less  well  known,  is  nevertheless  most  interesting  and  instructive. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  1723  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Myles,  then 
rector  of  King's  Chapel,  who  pronounced  the  following  words:  "May 
the  gates  of  Hell  never  prevail  against  it."  It  was  opened  for  divine 
service  on  December  29  of  the  same  year  by  the  first  rector,  the 
Rev.  Timothy  Cutler,  who  had  a  most  unusual  career.  He  was 
Doctor  of  Divinity  of  both  Oxford  and  Cambridge  universities,  also 
was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1701  and  then  became  President  of 
Yale  College  in  1719.  His  home  was  on  Salem  Street.  Dr.  Cutler 
in  a  letter  at  this  time  stated  that  there  were  thirty-two  "Negro  and 
Indian  slaves"  in  his  parish.  In  the  early  days  a  fine  was  imposed 
upon  any  member  who  "does  not  appear  within  two  hours  after  the 
time  appointed  for  a  meeting." 

A  most  interesting  Bible  was  presented  to  the  Church  by  King 
George  II.  in  1733.  It  is  called  the  "Vinegar  Bible,"  on  account 
of  a  curious  error  which  appears  on  one  of  the  pages,  the  word 
"Vinegar"  being  printed  in  place  of  the  word  "Vineyard,"  id  the 
chapter  of  St.  Luke  which  refers  to  "The  Parable  of  the  Vineyard." 
Some  of  the  Prayer  Books  have  paper  pasted  over  "King  and  Royal 
Family,"  and  the  words  "President  of  the  United  States"  written 
over  it.  The  Church  also  owns  a  Communion  Service,  several  pieces 
of  which  were  given  by  King  George  II.,  and  may  be  seen  at  the 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts.  At  one  time  part  of  this  Communion  set 
was  pledged  to  the  creditors  of  the  Church. 

A  chime  of  eight  bells,  each  bearing  a  different  inscription,  was 
placed  in  the  steeple  in  1744,  having  been  made  in  a  famous  foundry 
in  England.  On  bell  "3"  is  written,  "We  are  the  first  ring  of  bells 
cast  for  the  British  Empire  in  North  America."  For  some  years 
there  was  a  guild  of  bell  ringers  composed  of  Paul  Revere,  John  Dyer, 
Josiah  Flagg,  E.  Ballard,  Jonathan  Law,  Jonathan  Brown,  Jr.,  and 
Joseph  Snelling. 

Captain  Gruchy,  a  member  of  the  Church  and  commander  of  the 

[31  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Privateer  Queen  of  Hungary,  presented  to  the  church  the  four  small 
statues  in  front  of  the  organ,  which  were  captured  from  a  French 
vessel  during  the  French  and  Indian  war  in  1746.  They  were  doubt- 
less intended  for  a  Catholic  cathedral  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River, 
but  instead  found  their  way  to  a  Protestant  church  in  Boston. 

It  is  said  that  General  Gage  watched  the  burning  of  Charlestown 
and  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  from  Christ  Church  steeple'.  In  this 
battle  Major  Pitcairn  was  killed  by  a  bullet  fired  by  a  negro  soldier 
from  Salem,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in  the  tomb  beneath  the 
church.  About  this  time  Lieutenant  Shea,  who  died  of  fever,  was 
also  buried  here.  Some  years  later  Major  Pitcairn's  friends  in  Eng- 
land sent  for  his  body,  and  it  is  believed  that  through  some  curious 
mistake  the  remains  of  Lieutenant  Shea  were  shipped  in  its  place, 
so  that  the  tablet  in  Westminster  Abbey  possibly  marks  the  last 
resting  place  of  Shea,  who  had  a  very  commonplace  end,  instead  of 
marking  the  remains  of  the  hero  whose  bravery  its  inscription  com- 
memorates. Samuel  Nicholson,  First  Commander  of  the  Constitution, 
was  also  buried  here. 

Rev.  Mather  Byles  was  pastor  from  1768  to  1775.  His  father,  who 
was  pastor  of  King's  Chapel,  was  the  celebrated  wit  of  the  town  and 
was  always  cracking  jokes.  There  are  some  good  stories  of  his  in 
"Dealings  with  the  Dead."  In  1777  he  was  arrested  as  a  Tory, 
placed  under  guard  and  ordered  sent  to  England  in  forty  days.  He 
was  discovered  one  morning  pacing  before  his  door  with  a  musket  on 
his  shoulder,  and  one  of  his  neighbors  asked  the  cause.  "You  see," 
said  the  Doctor,  "I  begged  the  sentinel  to  let  me  go  for  some  milk 
for  my  family,  but  he  would  not  suffer  me  to  stir.  I  reasoned  the 
matter  with  him;  and  he  has  gone  himself,  to  get  it  for  me,  on  condi- 
tion that  I  keep  guard  in  his  absence."  He  frequently  referred  to  his 
keeper  as  his  "Observe-a-tory."  He  was  also  intimate  with  General 
Knox,  who  after  the  evacuation  marched  through  Boston  at  the  head 
of  his  artillery.  Byles  yelled  out  to  him,  "I  never  saw  an  ox  fatter 
in  my  life."  General  Knox,  who  was  quite  stout,  did  not  at  all  ap- 
preciate the  remark. 

In  front  of  Dr.  Byles*  house  there  was  a  mire,  and  he  often  tried  to 
get  the  selectmen  to  fill  it  in.  One  morning  two  of  the  board  happened 
to  drive  too  near  the  bog,  and  their  carriage  sank  in.  Dr.  Byles 
walked  by  them  as  they  were  trying  to  extricate  themselves  and 
politely  remarked,  "I  am  delighted,  gentlemen,  to  see  you  stirring 
in  this  matter,  at  last."  Another  time  a  man  with  a  toothache  met 
the  Doctor  and  asked  him  where  he  could  have  it  drawn.  The 
Doctor  gave  him  a  name  and  street  number.  On  going  to  the  address 
the  occupant  of  the  house  answered  him,  "This  is  a  poor  joke  for 
Dr.  Byles,  I  am  not  a  dentist,  but  a  portrait  painter — it  will  give 
you  little  comfort,  my  friend,  to  have  me  draw  your  tooth."  Dr. 
Byles  had  sent  him  to  Copley.  Another  time,  when  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Prince  for  some  reason  did  not  keep  an  engagement  to  preach,  Dr. 
Byles  rose  and  preached  from  the  text,  "Put  not  your  trust  in  princes. " 

It  is  recorded  that  once  some  one  got  the  better  of  the  Doctor.  He 
was  devoted  at  one  time  to  a  lady  who  finally  married  a  Quincy.  He 
met  her  one  day  and  asked  her  \iow  she  happened  to  choose  Quincy 

[  32  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

instead  of  Byles.      She  replied,  "If  there  had  been  anything  worse 
than  biles  Job  would  have  been  afflicted  by  them." 

Rev.  William  Montague,  who  was  Rector  from  1786  to  1792,  and 
who  lived  in  Dedham,  Mass.,  was  the  person  to  whom  a  man  called 
Savage  gave  the  ball  which  killed  Warren,  although  the  identity  of 
the  bullet  has  sometimes  been  questioned.  Dr.  J.  Collins  Warren 
believes  that  the  bullet  was  buried  with  the  body.  In  the  Old  South 
Church  there  is  a  photograph  of  the  skull  of  General  Warren,  which 
shows  a  large  bullet  wound  in  the  head.  He  was  supposed  to  have 
been  shot  while  climbing  over  a  stone  wall. 

In  1815  a  bust  of  George  Washington  was  presented  to  the  church, 
and  is  believed  to  be  the  first  memorial  erected  to  him  in  a  public 
place.  Lafayette  said  it  was  the  best  likeness  of  Washington  that 
he  had  ever  seen. 

It  has  never  been  definitely  determined  who  hung  the  lanterns  in 
the  belfry  on  that  memorable  18th  of  April,  the  highest  authorities 
being  at  variance  between  Robert  Newman,  the  Sexton,  and  Captain 
John  Pulling,  Jr.,  a  close  friend  of  Paul  Revere.  It  is  certain  that 
both  had  much  to  do  with  displaying  the  warning.  Newman  was 
discovered  in  bed  and  arrested,  but  nothing  could  be  proved  against 
him.  Captain  Pulling  certainly  acted  as  if  he  were  guilty,  for,  dis- 
guised as  a  laborer,  he  made  his  way  by  sea  to  Cohasset,  where  he  and 
his  wife  remained  in  hiding  for  some  time*  His  wife  was  a  Hingham 
woman  named  Sarah  Thaxter.  Each  year  the  lanterns  are  hung 
in  the  belfry  by  one  of  the  descendants  of  Paul  Revere.  On  the  next 
to  the  last  anniversary  the  little  boy  who  was  carrying  them  fell 
and  broke  one,  but  it  was  soon  repaired. 

To  the  Rt.  Rev.  William  Lawrence,  the  present  Rector,  is  chiefly 
due  the  preservation  of  the  building,  which  was  reopened  on  Sunday, 
December  29,  1912. 

WOODBRIDGE-PHILLIPS  DUEL  ON  THE   COMMON 

The  duel  between  Benjamin  Woodbridge  and  Henry  Phillips  was 
the  first  in  Boston  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  one  of  the  partici- 
pants. Both  of  these  men  were  merchants  of  the  town  and  hicjily 
respected  citizens,  and  the  affair  quite  naturally  caused  much  excite- 
ment. The  origin  of  their  quarrel,  which  started  on  the  evening  of 
July  3,  1728,  at  the  Royal  Exchange  Tavern  on  King  Street,  has  always 
been  a  mystery,  though  it  must  have  been  of  a  serious  nature.  They 
repaired  at  once  to  the  Common,  which  had  already  witnessed  several 
duels  in  times  gone  by,  and  settled  their  controversy  near  the  old 
Powder  House  Hill  and  not  far  from  the  water  where  Charles  Street 
now  lies.  Phillips  ran  his  sword  completely  through  the  body  of 
Woodbridge,  who  was  not  discovered  until  early  the  following  morn- 
ing. There  were  no  seconds.  The  survivor  became  much  alarmed 
when  he  realized  that  he  had  probably  killed  his  adversary,  and  as 
he  walked  across  the  Common  he  met  Robert  Handy  of  the  White 
Horse  Tavern  and  begged  him  to  go  back  and  get  a  surgeon  for  the 
wounded  man.  Handy,  however,  concluded  that  it  would  be  safer 
for  him  to  return  to  his  Inn.     Governor  Dummer  immediately  issued 

[  33  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

a  proclamation  commanding  all  persons  in  the  Province  to  endeavor 
to  capture  Phillips  and  bring  him  to  justice,  and  hand-bills  were 
placed  upon  all  the  town  pumps  and  chief  corners  of  the  town,  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  day.  Phillips,  however,  eluded  his 
pursuers,  with  the  aid  of  his  brother  Gillam  and  Peter  Faneuil,  whose 
sister  married  this  same  Gillam.  He  was  concealed  for  a  short  time 
in  the  house  of  Colonel  Estis  Hatch  and  was  then  rowed  from  Gibbs 
Wharf  in  Fort  Hill,  in  Captain  John  Winslow's  boat,  to  the  British 
man-of-war  Sheerness  which  was  lying  near  Castle  Island.  Officers 
endeavored  to  find  this  ship,  and  others  from  the  cupola  of  the  old 
Town  House  scanned  the  harbour  in  vain.  The  Sheerness  had 
already  departed  for  Rochelle,  France,  with  her  unhappy  exile,  who 
died  the  following  year  in  distress  over  the  deed  he  had  committed. 
His  mother  went  over  to  comfort  him,  but  arrived  after  his  death. 
Governor  Burnett  succeeded  Governor  Dummer  about  a  month 
after  the  duel,  and,  with  eighty-seven  other  prominent  citizens, 
signed  a  petition  for  Phillips,  certifying  as  to  his  honorable  character 
and  asking  for  his  pardon  for  what  was  then  a  charge  of  murder. 

Woodbridge's  body  was  taken  to  the  house  of  his  partner,  Jonathan 
Sewall,  and  his  funeral  was  attended  by  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
several  of  the  Council,  and  many  of  the  townspeople.  He  was  buried 
in  the  Granary  Burying  Ground.  A  sermon  with  this  duel  as  the 
text  was  delivered  a  few  days  later  by  Dr.  Joseph  Sewell,  of  the  Old 
South  Church.  Phillips  was  only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  his 
victim  was  only  a  few  years  older. 

A  law  was  passed  soon  after  to  prevent  duelling,  which  provided 
that,  even  if  no  injuries  were  inflicted,  any  person  convicted  of  en- 
gaging in  a  duel  should  "be  carried  publicly  in  a  cart  to  the  gallows, 
with  a  rope  about  his  neck,  and  set  on  the  gallows  an  hour,  then  to 
be  imprisoned  twelve  months  without  bail."  Any  one  who  was  killed 
should  be  denied  Christian  burial  and  must  be  buried  "near  the  usual 
place  of  execution  with  a  stake  drove  through  the  body."  The  sur- 
vivor was  considered  a  murderer  and  must  be  executed  and  buried 
in  a  similar  manner. 

MASSACHUSETTS    ISSUES   LOTTERY   TICKETS   TO   HELP 
REBUILD  FANEUIL  HALL 

This  cut,  which  is  taken  from  an  original  lottery  ticket  to  be  seen 
in  the  banking  rooms  of  the  State  Street  Trust  Company,  shows  one 
of  the  six  thousand  tickets  sold  under  the  auspices  of  the  Massachu- 
setts legislature  in  1762  to  help  rebuild  Faneuil  Hall,  which  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  the  year  before.  A  special  committee,  consisting  of 
Thomas  Cushing,  Samuel  Hewes,  John  Scollay,  Benjamin  Austin, 
Samuel  Sewall,  S.  P.  Savage  and  Ezekiel  Lewis,  was  appointed  to  act 
as  Managers  of  the  lottery,  and  subscribers  could  get  their  numbers 
from  the  Board  or  from  the  firm  of  Green  &  Russell  in  Queen  Street. 
The  tickets  were  sold  for  $2  apiece,  which  brought  in  $12,000,  but 
as  there  were  1,486  prizes  amounting  to  $10,800  there  was  only  a 
net  profit  of  $1,200  to  pay  to  the  contractor.  There  was  one  prize  of 
$1,000  and  one  of  $500,   all  the  others  being  of  smaller  amounts, 

[  34  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON  EVENTS 

ranging  down  to  $4.  The  contractor  made  many  complaints  about 
the  slowness  of  payment,  and  a  committee  was  chosen  to  decide  the 
dispute.  Although  Governor  Hancock  signed  the  original  of  which 
this  cut  is  a  copy,  he  did  not  sign  all  of  the  issue,  and  later  on  he 
exerted  his  influence  against  this  scheme  of  raising  money,  which 
encouraged  gambling  and  at  the  same  time  produced  such  meagre 
results.  Faneuil  Hall  was  occupied  for  a  town  meeting  again  in 
March,  1764. 

Lotteries  were  regarded  almost  in  the  light  of  investments  and 
were  authorized  by  the  State  authorities.  It  was  thought  as  respect- 
able to  sell  tickets  as  to  sell  Bibles,  and  the  two  have  been  seen  classed 
together  in  the  same  advertisement.     Without  doubt  lotteries  were 


«• 


ST 


BOS  TO  N,  ApnL  1 767.         W\ 
%  FaneuH-HM  LOTTERY,  Number  EIGHT.  §J 

Kh  Tbii  Ticket  TNo.  /<?6.<9  1  entitles  4 

k%  Wi  the"  PofTtffor  to  any  Prize  drawn  againft  laid  Number,  .ft1 

tW:^  in  a   LOTTERY  granted   by  an  Aft  of  the  General  |p 

IfcjSSI  Co.uf't  °f  theProvince  of"  the  Naffachiifetts-Bay,  for  Re-  |*| 

$$2  '&■  buildine  F/JNEU1L-Bd\\ ;   nibjecl:  to  no  Deduftfc&J   :£| 


Picture  of  original  lottery  ticket  to  rebuild  Faneuil  Hall.      In  the  collection  of  the  State  Street 

Trust  Company. 

a  means  of  raising  money  (which  could  not  otherwise  at  that  time  be 
procured)  for  churches,  colleges,  roads,  bridges,  ferries,  wharves,  etc. 
Advertisements  were  common,  and  often  the  figure  of  Fortune  blind- 
folded and  balancing  herself  upon  a  wheel  was  used,  or  men  angling  for 
prizes.  Notices  often  spoke  of  the  lottery  as  a  "speedy  cure  for  a 
broken  fortune."  One  of  the  most  important  public  lotteries  was  held 
by  Harvard  University  to  build  Stoughton  Hall  and,  later  on,  Hol- 
worthy;  in  1774  the  Province  held  one  to  replenish  the  treasury. 
Charlestown  also  had  a  large  one,  as  did  Dartmouth  College;  there  was 
also  one  to  pave  Boston  Neck,  to  make  Gloucester  Road,  to  improve 
Plymouth  Beach,  and  for  the  benefit  of  a  paper  mill  in  Milton. 
There  were  likewise  many  private  lotteries,  some  of  which  were  man- 
aged dishonestly,  the  drawn  tickets  often  being  sold  a  second  time. 

The  lottery  originated  in  Florence  in  1530,  and  was  first  instituted 
in  England  in  1567,  when  the  first  drawing  took  place  at  the  west 
door  of  St.  Paul's. 

General  Lincoln  of  Massachusetts  had  a  law  passed  in  1833  pro- 
hibiting the  sale  of  tickets  in  this  State. 


[35  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

LIBERTY  TREE 

"Of  high  renown,  here  grew  the  tree, 
The  Elm  so  dear  to  Liberty; 
Your  sires,  beneath  its  sacred  shade, 
To  Freedom  early  homage  paid. 
This  day  with  filial  awe  surround 
Its  root,  that  sanctifies  the  ground, 
And  by  your  fathers'  spirits  swear, 
The  rights  they  left  you'll  not  impair." 

Judge  Dawes. 

Hundreds  of  people  daily  hurry  past  the  corner  of  Essex  and 
Washington  Streets  and  pass  the  spot  where,  exactly  a  century  and 
a  half  ago,  stood  an  old  elm  tree  from  the  branches  of  which  dangled 
the  effigy  of  Andrew  Oliver.  Oliver  was  Secretary  of  the  Province 
and  personified  to  the  people  the  Stamp  Act, — the  thing  the  colonists 
hated  most  in  the  world.  This  elm,  which  played  such  an  important 
part  in  the  early  history  of  the  Colony,  came  to  be  known  as  Liberty 
Tree.  A  freestone  bas-relief  now  marks  the  spot  where  it  once  stood; 
thereon  is  the  following  inscription: — 

Liberty  1765 

Law  and  Order 

Sons  of  Liberty  1766 

Independence  of  their  Country  1776. 

The  effigy  of  Oliver,  discovered  swinging  from  the  largest  branch 
of  the  tree,  created  wild  excitement. 

"Take  it  down,"  Governor  Hutchinson  commanded  the  sheriff. 

"I  don't  dare  to,  sir,"  retorted  that  dignitary. 

Local  revolution  was  in  the  air — and  the  sheriff  undoubtedly 
wanted  to  keep  clear  of  the  tar  pot  and  a  nice  warm  coat  of  many 
feathers. 

The  day  that  Oliver's  effigy  hung,  along  with  a  boot,  with  the  devil 
peeping  out  of  it,  might  have  been  a  holiday  judging  by  the  excitement 
that  reigned  throughout  the  town.  The  boot  was  intended  as  a  pun 
upon  the  name  of  Lord  Bute,  Prime  Minister  of  England.  Business 
was  practically  suspended.  Crowds  came  from  miles  around.  All 
day  long  the  figures  dangled  from  the  tree.  When  day  closed  the 
effigies  were  removed — a  procession  solemnly  formed,  followed  by 
thousands  of  all  sorts  and  conditions;  the  effigies  were  placed  on  a 
bier,  and  the  procession  marched  solemnly  to  the  Town  House.  From 
there  it  moved  to  the  supposed  office  of  the  Stamp  Master.  On  it 
went  to  Fort  Hill,  where  the  effigies  were  burned  in  full  sight  of  Mr. 
Oliver's  house.  The  Sons  of  Liberty,  later  on,  compelled  Oliver  to 
make  a  public  resignation  before  Richard  Dana,  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
beneath  the  Liberty  Tree;   no  other  place  would  satisfy  them. 

Other  figures  of  those  favoring  the  Stamp  Act  and  other  English 
regulations  appeared  on  the  branches  of  Liberty  Tree,  including  those 
of  Charles  Paxton,  a  revenue  collector,  and  Benjamin  Hallowell, 
Comptroller  of  Customs.  Then  a  tablet  was  fixed, — a  copper  plate 
bearing  the  inscription  in  gold  letters,  "The  Tree  of  Liberty,  August 
14,  1765."     The  spot  became  the  meeting  place  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty 

[  36  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

and  continued  to  be  until  the  colonists  were  driven  out  of  Boston 
by  the  siege.  The  date  February  14,  1766,  was  set  on  it  by  the  Sons 
of  Liberty,  and  by  their  order  the  old  tree  was  pruned.  The  repeal 
of  the  Stamp  Act  was  also  celebrated  with  illuminations  on  the  tree 
and  on  the  Common.  The  ground  about  the  tree  became  known  as 
Liberty  Hall,  and  in  August,  1767,  a  flagstaff  was  erected  which 
extended  through  the  highest  branches  of  the  tree;  when  a  flag  was 
hoisted  from  this  staff,  it  was  a  signal  for  the  Sons  of  Liberty  to  gather 
for  an  important  conference. 

The  admiration  of  Bostonians  for  their  Liberty  Tree  is  shown 
Iby  the  will  of  a  man  called  Philip  Billis,  who  left  a  considerable  for- 
tune to  two  friends  on  condition  that  they  would  bury  his  body 
[beneath  the  shadow  of  its  branches. 

The  British  entertained  as  great  a  contempt  for  the  tree  as 
they  did  for  the  colonists.  When  poor  Ditson  was  tarred  and 
feathered  he  was  compelled  to  parade  in  front  of  Liberty  Tree. 
At  length  so  great  an  eye-sore  was  the  famous  landmark  that  during 
the  last  week  in  August,  1775,  a  party  led  by  Job  Williams  destroyed 
it.  "Armed  with  axes,"  says  the  Essex  Gazette  of  1775,  "they  made 
a  furious  attack  upon  it.  After  a  long  spell  of  laughing  and  grinning, 
sweating,  swearing  and  foaming,  with  malice  diabolical,  they  cut 
down  the  tree  because  it  bore  the  name  of  Liberty."  One  of  the 
British  party,  during  the  attack,  lost  his  life  by  falling  from  one  of 
the  highest  branches  to  the  pavement.  The  tree  had  been  planted  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  years,  in  1646,  and  the  Pemberton  Manuscript 
states  that  it  bore  the  first  fruits  of  liberty  in  America.  Long  after  the 
Revolution  the  place  where  it  had  stood  for  so  long  was  called  Liberty 
Stump.  On  it  was  erected  a  pole  which  served  for  many  years  as 
a  guide-post,  which  having  decayed  was  replaced  by  a  second  pole 
just  after  the  arrival  of  General  Lafayette  as  a  guest  of  the  nation  in 
1824.  As  the  General's  carriage  stopped  in  front  of  the  famous  spot 
he  was  much  affected.  A  pleasing  incident  occurred  there.  A 
young  girl,  with  a  red,  white  and  blue  sash  across  her  shoulders,  came 
down  the  steps  of  the  Lafayette  Hotel  opposite,  bearing  on  a  silver 
salver  two  goblets  and  a  bottle  of  old  wine  from  France.  Lafayette 
drank  the  wine  she  gave  him  with  great  gallantry.  Later,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  Tree,  he  said,  "The  world  should  never  forget  where  once 
stood  the  Liberty  Tree,  so  famous  in  your  annals." 

SIGNING  OF  THE  CHARTER  PAPERS  OF  THE  BOSTON  TEA 
PARTY  VESSELS  IN  THE  ROTCH  WHALING  OFFICE, 
NANTUCKET 

The  Charter  Papers  of  the  three  ships  that  brought  the  tea  into 
Boston  Harbour  in  1773  were  made  out  and  signed  in  the  whaling 
office  of  William  Rotch,  which  still  exists  as  a  Club  at  the  foot  of  old 
cobble-stoned  Main  Street  in  Nantucket.  Rotch  sailed  for  London 
;in  the  early  part  of  the  year  in  a  ship  commanded  by  Alexander 
Coffin,  and  while  there  he  made  a  contract  with  the  East  India  Com- 
pany to  take  a  cargo  of  tea  to  Boston  in  three  of  the  ships  belonging 
to    his  firm.      Two  of    the  vessels  were   "whalers,"  one  being  the 

[  37  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Dartmouth  of  New  Bedford,  commanded  by  Captain  James  Hall, 
and  the  other  the  Beaver,  captained  by  Hezekiah  Coffin  of  Nantucket; 
the  third  was  the  Eleanor. 

It  was  this  same  Rotch  who,  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  moved 
his  family  and  other  Nantucket  whalemen  to  Dunkirk,  and  from  there 
carried  on  the  pursuit  of  whaling,  being  the  first  ship-owner  -who  ever 
sent  a  whaleship  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  On  the  occasion  of  a  French 
victory,  during  his  residence  in  Dunkirk,  all  the  inhabitants  lighted 
bonfires  on  their  lawns,  and  any  one  who  didn't  do  so  was  held  under 
suspicion.     Rotch  was  a  Quaker,  and  it  was  contrary  to  his  belief 


The  Rotch  Whaling  Office,  now  the  Pacific  Club,  at  the  foot  of  Main  Street,  Nantucket, 
old  whale  weathervane  can  be  seen  above  the  building. 


The 


to  celebrate  in  this  manner.  It  was  necessary  therefore  to  seek  the 
protection  of  the  authorities  in  Dunkirk,  who  placed  a  representative 
on  the  lawn  of  all  the  Quaker  residences  to  explain  the  reason  why 
it  was  impossible  for  them  to  join  in  the  celebrations.  Rotch  re- 
turned to  America,  but  his  son  Benjamin  and  daughter-in-law  never 
came  back.  She  was  so  ill  on  the  voyage  over  that  her  doctor  advised 
her  never  to  attempt  the  return  journey,  and  she  remained  abroad  all 
her  life. 

The  old  brick  counting  house  shown  in  the  picture  above  was  built 
in  1772  by  William  Rotch  &  Sons,  who  occupied  it  until  1795,  when 
they  moved  to  New  Bedford.  The  old  building  has  an  exceedingly 
interesting  history.  Many  a  whaleship  has  been  started  from  here 
on  her  long  voyage  to  report  years  later  her  success  or  failure;  and, 
finally,  when  the  industry  died  out  in  1861,  seven  of  the  captains 

[38  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

organized  the  Pacific  Club,  which  was  composed  of  retired  whaling 
veterans,  using  the  lower  floor  of  the  building  for  Club  rooms.  The 
last  captain  died  in  1913  at  the  age  of  ninety,  but  the  original  twenty- 
four  memberships  are  to-day  possessions  that  are  highly  prized  by 
the  descendants  of  the  old  whaling  families  of  the  Island.  There  are 
also  forty -four  "annual"  members,  twenty  of  whom  are  summer 
visitors.  The  ship  prints  on  the  walls  would  excite  the  envy  of  all 
collectors,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  the  old  stove  in  the  centre  of  the  room 
cannot  repeat  the  whaling  yarns  that  have  been  told  around  it.  In 
the  picture  can  be  seen  the  whale  weathervane  rising  from  a  platform 
so  common  in  the  Nantucket  houses,  which  is  built  on  the  roof  to 
enable  the  families  to  detect  the  home-coming  of  their  ships. 

The  Tea  Party  was  productive  of  several  amusing  incidents.  All 
of  the  contents  of  the  three  hundred  and  forty -two  chests  of  tea  did 
not  float  down  the  harbour  with  the  tide.  When  Thomas  Melville, 
one  of  the  "Mohawk  Band,"  returned  home  his  wife  collected  some 
of  the  tea  from  his  shoes  and  preserved  it  in  a  bottle.  It  is  believed 
that  this  possession  was  handed  down  to  Samuel  Shaw,  son  of  Judge 
Shaw,  and  it  is  doubtless  in  existence  to-day,  the  property  of  a  member 
of  the  family.  Several  persons  were  detected  in  the  act  of  stealing 
tea.  One  of  the  "Indians"  filled  his  pockets  and  even  the  lining  of 
his  clothes,  but  was  soon  detected.  Some  one  grabbed  him  by  his 
coat,  which  came  off,  enabling  the  wearer  to  escape,  but  not  without 
having  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  crowd  on  the  wharf,  each  one  of 
whom  gave  him  a  kick.  His  coat  was  nailed  to  the  whipping-post 
in  Charlestown,  the  place  of  his  residence,  with  the  name  of  the  owner 
labelled  upon  it  in  large  letters. 

It  is  only  natural  that  Bostonians  should  take  a  deep  interest  in 
this  old  building,  which  serves  to  link  together  by  its  history  the  town 
of  Nantucket  and  our  city. 

GENERAL  WARREN  CLIMBS  THROUGH  THE  WINDOW  OF 
THE  OLD  SOUTH  CHURCH  TO  DELIVER  HIS  FAMOUS 
"MASSACRE"  SPEECH 

Warren  raised  himself,  a  Tory  writer  has  said,  from  a  barelegged 
boy  to  be  a  major-general.  As  a  boy,  he  was  manly,  fearless  and 
independent,  which  characteristics  he  still  possessed  as  he  grew  into 
manhood.  He  was  so  determined  to  commemorate  in  a  fitting  way 
the  Boston  Massacre  that  he  climbed  in  the  window  of  the  Old  South 
Church,  there  being  no  other  way  of  reaching  the  pulpit,  and  there 
delivered  his  address  before  an  audience  of  townspeople  and  a  com- 
pany of  armed  officers  of  the  king's  army.  There's  a  story  told  of  his 
college  days  at  Harvard.  Several  of  his  class  in  the  course  of  a  frolic 
tried  to  exclude  him  by  shutting  themselves  in  a  chamber  and  bar- 
ring the  door  so  tightly  that  he  could  not  force  it.  W^arren,  bent  on 
joining  them,  saw  that  their  window  was  open,  and  that  a  spout  was 
near  it  which  reached  from  the  roof  to  the  ground.  He  went  to  the 
top  of  the  house,  walked  to  the  spout,  slid  by  it  to  the  open  window, 
and  threw  himself  into  the  room.  At  that  instant  the  spout  fell. 
He  quietly  remarked  that  it  had  served  his  purpose.     He  then  en- 

[  39  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

tered  into  the  sport  of  his  classmates.  "A  spectator  of  this  feat  and 
narrow  escape,"  says  Knapp,  "related  this  fact  to  me  in  the  college 
yard,  nearly  half  a  century  afterwards,  and  the  impression  it  made 
on  his  mind  was  so  strong  that  he  seemed  to  feel  the  same  emotions 
as  though  it  happened  an  hour  before." 

Warren  was  a  writer  as  well  as  an  orator.  He  was,  thirty-five 
years  old  when  he  delivered  his  oration  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
Boston  Massacre.  It  was  in  1775,  and  the  town  was  occupied  by 
hostile  troops.  It  had  been  given  out  that  it  would  be  at  the  price 
of  life  to  any  man  to  speak  of  the  massacre,  as  there  was  unrest  and 
clashing  on  every  hand,  and  the  parties  concerned  were  on  the  verge 
of  war.  In  the  midst  of  such  conditions,  at  his  own  suggestion,  War- 
ren was  appointed  orator.  The  anniversary  fell  on  Sunday.  It 
was  to  be  celebrated  on  Monday,  and  early  in  the  day  carriages  and 
people  began  to  arrive  in  Boston.  The  Old  South  was  crowded.  The 
pulpit  was  draped  in  black.  On  the  platform  were  the  chief  leaders 
of  the  colonists, — Samuel  Adams,  John  Hancock,  and  the  rest.  It 
was  observed  that  the  aisles  were  crowded  with  British  officers, 
thereupon  Samuel  Adams  courteously  asked  the  occupants  of  the 
front  pews  to  move  that  the  officers  might  be  seated.  Some  forty, 
in  uniform,  filled  the  pews  and  the  pulpit  stairs.  The  audience  was 
uneasy.  There  was  a  stir  among  the  crowd  outside,  and  Warren 
drove  up  in  a  chaise  and  went  directly  to  the  house  opposite  the 
church,  where  he  put  on  his  black  robe.  To  avoid  the  crowd  he  went 
around  to  the  rear  of  the  church,  gathered  his  robe  about  him,  climbed 
a  ladder  and  entered  the  church  through  the  window  back  of  the  pulpit. 
The  silence  that  followed  his  appearance  in  the  pulpit  was  oppressive. 

"His  speech,"  says  Frothingham,  "imbued  with  the  spirit  of  a 
high  chivalry  and  faith,  resounds  with  the  clash  of  arms.  The 
speeches  in  which  prominent  actors  in  Grecian  and  Roman  story 
develop  their  policy  or  promote  their  objects,  not  words  actually 
spoken,  but  what  the  relator  thought  fitting  to  have  been  spoken, 
were  regarded  as  valuable  delineations  of  the  temper  of  these  times. 
But  here  were  the  words  of  an  earnest  and  representative  man,  ut- 
tered on  the  eve  of  a  great  war,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  military 
power  whom  he  was  soon  to  meet  in  the  field." 

For  the  sake  of  the  cause,  it  has  been  said,  Warren  dared  to  speak 
what  some  scarce  dared  to  think. 

Some  of  the  officers  groaned  when  the  Old  South  audience  ap- 
plauded— though  as  a  whole  they  remained  quiet  until  the  close  of 
the  oration.  Captain  Chapman  of  the  Welsh  Fusileers,  seated  near 
the  pulpit,  held  up  a  handful  of  bullets  in  the  course  of  the  oration, 
and  Warren,  observing  the  action,  dropped  his  white  handkerchief 
over  the  officer's  open  palms  and  then  continued  his  fiery  remarks. 
Later,  when  the  town's  representatives  moved  that  the  thanks  of 
the  town  be  presented  to  the  orator  for  the  oration,  the  British 
officers  pounded  on  the  floor  with  their  canes,  some  hissed,  others 
cried  "Fie!  Fie!" — the  latter,  being  understood  for  a  cry  of  fire, 
caused  some  panic.  Even  then,  the  king's  representatives  did  not 
succeed  in  breaking  up  the  meeting.  The  47th  Regiment  happened 
to  pass  the  church  at  the  time,  and  the  commander  ordered  the 

[  40  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

drums  to  beat  in  order  to  drown  the  voice  of  the  orator.     It  was 

learned  afterwards  that  a  plot  had  been  arranged  to  seize  Adams, 

Hancock  and  Warren.     It  had  been  planned  that  an  ensign  was  to 

I  give  the  signal  by  throwing  an  egg  at  the  orator,  but  luckily  he  fell 

I  on  the  way  to  the  meeting,  dislocating  his  knee  and  breaking  the  egg, 

!  thereby  spoiling  the  scheme. 

"The  Assembly,"  says  Samuel  Adams,  "was  irritated  to  the 
greatest  degree,  and  confusion  ensued.  They,  however,  did  not  gain 
their  end,  which  was  apparently  to  break  up  the  meeting,  for  order 
was  soon  restored.  It  was  provoking  enough  to  the  whole  corps  that 
while  there  were  many  troops  stationed  here,  there  should  yet  be 
one  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  an  oration,  to  commemorate  a 
massacre  perpetrated  by  soldiers  and  to  show  the  danger  of  standing 
armies." 

"The  scene  was  sublime,"  Samuel  L.  Knapp  says.  "There  was 
in  this  appeal  to  Britain — in  this  description  of  suffering,  dying, 
horrors — a  calm  and  high-souled  defiance  which  must  have  chilled 
the  blood  of  every  sensible  foe.  Such  another  hour  has  seldom  hap- 
pened in  the  history  of  man,  and  is  not  surpassed  in  the  records  of 
nations.  The  thunders  of  Demosthenes  rolled  in  the  distance  at 
Philip  and  his  host;  and  Tully  poured  the  fiercest  torrent  of  invective 
when  Catiline  was  at  a  distance,  and  his  dagger  no  longer  feared,  but 
Warren's  speech  was  made  to  proud  oppressors  resting  on  their  arms, 
whose  errand  it  was  to  overawe,  and  whose  business  it  was  to  fight." 

THE  LAST  BALL  IN  THE  PROVINCE  HOUSE,  WITH  SOME 
INTERESTING  INFORMATION  IN  REGARD  TO  THE 
HOUSE 

Sir  William  Howe,  the  last  Royal  Governor  of  the  Colonies,  gave  a 
ball  at  Province  House  on  February  22,  1776,  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  siege  of  Boston.  It  was  attended  by  the  officers  of  the  British 
army  and  the  Royal  Tories  of  the  Province,  and  every  one  appeared 
masked  and  in  some  kind  of  masquerade  costume.  It  was  Sir 
William's  idea  to  have  some  kind  of  festivity  in  order  to  hide  the 
distress  and  general  gloom  caused  by  the  siege.  Nathaniel  Hawthorne 
gives  us  a  description,  which,  although  full  of  romance  and  legend, 
nevertheless  is  an  excellent  picture  of  Boston  at  this  time.  The 
chief  interest  was  centred  on  a  group  of  persons  who  were  dressed 
up  most  ridiculously  in  old  regimental  costumes  which  looked  as 
if  they  might  have  been  worn  at  the  siege  of  Louisburg,  or  in  some 
of  the  old  wars.  One  person  represented  George  Washington,  others 
Gates,  Lee,  Putnam  and  other  officers  of  the  American  army. 
They  looked  more  like  scarecrows  than  anything  else.  There  was 
an  interview  between  these  skeleton  warriors  and  the  British  Com- 
mander-in-chief, which  was  received  with  great  applause.  It  is  related 
that  while  the  party  was  in  progress  there  went  by  a  parade  with 
muffled  drums,  the  trumpets  giving  forth  a  wailing  sound  which 
was  evidently  intended  to  worry  Sir  William  and  make  him  realize 
that  troubles  were  near  at  hand.  He  went  out  of  the  house  and 
ordered  it  to  disperse.     The  Puritan  Governors  Endicott,  Winthrop, 

[  41  ] 


PROVINCE   HOUSE   AS   IT   IS  TO-DAY. 

The  wall  on  the  right  of  fire-escape  is  the  original  east  end  of  the  Province  House, 
impossible  to  get  a  better  view,  on  account  of  the  narrow  passageway. 


It  was 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON   EVENTS 

Vane,  Dudley,  Haynes,  Bellingham  and  Leverett  were  then  seen 
(walking  down  the  staircase.  Lord  Percy  believed  that  there  might 
be  some  kind  of  a  plot,  but  his  host  persuaded  him  that  it  was  only 
a  jest  and  a  very  stupid  one  at  that.  Old  Governor  Bradstreet 
then  appeared,  followed  by  Governors  Andros,  Phips,  the  Earl  of 
Bellamont,  Governors  Belcher,  Dudley,  Burnet  and  Shute.  Sir 
William  Howe  and  his  guests  watched  the  pageant  with  anger,  con- 
tempt and  fear.  Governors  Shirley,  Pownall,  Bernard  and  Hutchin- 
son were  also  represented.  Last  of  all  appeared  the  figure  of  Governor 
Howe  about  to  leave  the  Province  House.  The  figure  walked  to 
the  door,  clenched  his  hands,  stamped  his  foot  and  uttered  a  curse  as 
he  gave  up  his  home  after  his  defeat.  It  is  said  that  not  long  after 
this  he  actually  used  these  same  gestures  when  as  the  last  Royal 
Governor  he  left  the  Province  House  never  to  return.  While  the 
ball  was  in  progress  it  is  reported  that  there  was  a  roar  of  artillery 
which  announced  that  Washington  had  captured  another  entrench- 
ment at  Dorchester  Heights.  Captain  Joliffe,  a  Whig,  who  happened 
to  be  present,  asked  Sir  William  if  he  realized  the  significance  of  the 
pageant,  and  was  warned  by  his  host  'Ho  take  care  of  his  gray  head 
and  that  it  had  stood  too  long  on  a  traitor's  shoulders."  Joliffe 
replied  that  the  Empire  of  Britain  in  this  Ancient  Province  was 
about  to  give  its  last  gasp  that  night.     The  festival  soon  broke  up. 

The  names  of  the  actors  of  that  night  have  never  been  found  out, 
but  have  gone  down  in  history  together  with  the  Indians  who  scattered 
the  boxes  of  tea  in  Boston  Harbour.  There  is  a  legend  that  on  the 
anniversary  night  of  the  defeat  of  the  British,  the  ghosts  of  the 
ancient  governors  of  Massachusetts  glide  through  the  doorway  of 
Province  House. 

When  the  Governor  left  he  handed  over  the  key  to  old  Esther 
Dudley,  his  housekeeper,  who,  it  is  related,  stayed  for  many  years 
in  the  old  house  and  was  still  faithful  to  the  King.  It  is  said  that 
many  of  the  old  Tories  of  Boston  used  to  meet  here  and  drink  some 
of  the  old  wine  that  was  still  left.  It  has  even  been  reported  that 
she  used  to  illuminate  the  house  every  year  on  the  anniversary 
of  the  King's  birthday  and  that  she  often  climbed  to  the  cupola 
in  search  of  a  British  fleet  or  a  procession  of  Redcoats,  which 
she  always  thought  would  come  and  recapture  the  Colony.  The 
people,  however,  felt  quite  differently,  for  they  often  would  say, 
"When  the  golden  Indian  on  the  Province  House  shall  shoot  his 
arrow,  and  the  cock  on  the  Old  South  steeple  shall  crow,  then  look 
for  the  Royal  Governor  again."      This  was  a  by-word  in  the  town. 

The  land  of  the  Province  House,  the  original  plan  of  which  can  be 
seen  in  the  office  of  C.  H.  W.  Foster,  Esq.,  was  given  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts General  Hospital  in  1811,  the  same  year  it  was  incorporated. 
The  Trustees  of  the  Hospital  in  1817  leased  the  property  for  ninety- 
nine  years  to  David  Greenough,  who  changed  over  the  front  of  the 
building  into  stores  and  leased  them.  Later  the  building  was  turned 
into  a  tavern  and  then  into  a  hall  for  negro  minstrels,  until  it  was 
almost  destroyed  by  fire  in  1864.  The  house  is  now  used  as  part 
of  the  Old  South  Theatre,  which  has  its  entrance  on  Washington 
Street  almost  opposite  the  Old  South  Church.     The  photograph  on 

[  43  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

page  42  gives  a  view  of  the  northeast  wall,  now  one  side  of  the  theatre> 
which  is  practically  as  it  has  been  for  several  generations.  It  is 
well  worth  a  visit  and  may  be  found  by  going  up  School  Street, 
then  along  Province  Street,  turning  down  the  first  alleyway  before 
coming  to  Province  Court,  which  is  extremely  narrow.  The  old  wall 
is  at  the  end  of  the  passageway  on  the  right.  This  end  of  the  old 
house  consists  of  a  huge  exterior  chimney,  which  is  "stepped,"  or 
smaller  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom.  There  is  only  one  like  it  in 
all  New  England.  The  entire  front  wall  towards  Washington  Street 
— then  Marlborough  Street — is  still  standing,  but  is  more  difficult  to 
find  on  account  of  the  extension  erected  by  the  theatre.  Of  the 
other  two  sides,  scarcely  any  part  exists  to-day. 

The  Indian  which  stood  on  the  cupola  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  The  porch  once  stood  in  front  of 
the  "Poore"  farm,  at  Indian  Hill,  West  Newbury,  now  owned  by  the 
family  of  F.  S.  Moseley,  Esq.  The  interior  panelling  from  one  of  the 
rooms  of  Province  House,  said  to  have  been  the  Council  Chamber,  is 
now  in  one  of  the  rooms  at  Indian  Hill. 

"FROG"  DINNER   GIVEN  TO  THE   OFFICERS   OF  THE 

FRENCH  FLEET 

When  Admiral  d'Estaing  and  his  fleet  visited  Boston  in  1778,  they 
were  most  hospitably  received,  and  among  the  various  entertainments 
held  in  their  honor  was  a  dinner  given  by  Mr.  Nathaniel  Tracy  of 
Cambridge.  He  had  seen  some  of  d'Estaing's  sailors  hunting  frogs 
in  the  Frog  Pond,  and,  believing  them  to  be  a  national  dish,  he 
had  all  the  swamps  of  Cambridge  searched  for  enough  of  these  animals 
to  supply  his  guests.  There  was  a  large  tureen  at  each  end  of  the 
table,  and  from  one  of  these  Tracy  ladled  out  soup  and  a  frog  for  each 
guest.  The  French  Consul,  M.  L'Etombe,  fished  out  his  frog, 
held  it  up  by  its  hind  legs,  exclaiming,  "Mon  Dieu,  une  grenouille," 
and  then  passed  it  around  the  table  to  his  friends.  The  Frenchmen 
were  greatly  surprised  at  this  "delicate  attention,"  and  Mr.  Tracy 
was  fully  as  astonished  to  find  that  they  did  not  appreciate  his  efforts 
in  the  way  that  he  had  intended.  "What's  the  matter?"  said  he. 
"Why  don't  you  eat  them?"  "If  they  knew  the  confounded  trouble 
I  had  to  catch  them  in  order  to  treat  them  to  a  dish  of  their  own 
country,  they  would  find  that,  with  me  at  least,  it  was  no  joking 
matter." 

John  Hancock,  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  also  welcomed 
the  Frenchmen  to  his  attractive  house  on  Beacon  Hill.  It  was  impor- 
tant for  America  while  at  war  with  England  to  encourage  the 
friendship  of  the  French,  with  whom  a  treaty  had  just  been  made. 
Governor  Hancock  was  much  disturbed  at  the  prospect  of  entertain- 
ing such  distinguished  guests,  and  in  a  letter  to  Henry  Quincy  begged 
him  to  help  find  suitable  food  for  them.  Admiral  d'Estaing  asked 
if  he  might  bring  his  three  hundred  officers  with  him.  There  wasn't 
food  enough  for  all,  but  Mrs.  Hancock  rose  to  the  occasion  and  sent 
her  servants  to  the  Common  to  milk  any  cows  they  could  find. 
The  owners  of  the  animals  were  more  amused  than  displeased  and 

[  44  ] 


. 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 


ade  no  protest.  The  French  Admiral  invited  the  Governor's 
vife  to  dine  on  board  his  flagship,  and  she  got  even  with  him  by 
>ringing  with  her  all  the  women  she  could  get  together.  While  at 
iinner  she  was  requested  to  pull  a  cord,  which  was  the  signal  to  dis- 
charge all  the  guns  of  the  squadron  in  her  honor. 

Admiral  d'Estaing  was  later  one  of  the  victims  of  the  guillotine  in 
;he  French  Revolution. 

THE   PENOBSCOT  EXPEDITION— PAUL  REVERE 

A  LIEUTENANT 

For  several  reasons  this  expedition  is  of  interest  to  the  people  of 

oston   and   Massachusetts.     Brigadier-General   Solomon   Lovell   of 
Wey mouth  was  Commander-in-Chief,   Peleg  Wadsworth,  Adjutant- 
General  of  Massachusetts,  was  second  in  command,  and  Paul  Revere 
pas  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  command  of  a  train  of  artillery.     Also  the 
attack  was  directed  against  Bagaduce,  now  part  of  Castine,  which  is 
pear  the  Penobscot  River  and  within  a  few  hours'  sail  of  Camden, 
Islesboro,  Isle  au  Haut,  Belfast  and  North  Haven,  where  many  resi- 
dents  of   this   State   have   their   summer   homes.     General   Lovell's 
diary,  found  in  1879  and  published  in  1881  by  the  Weymouth  His- 
torical Society,  gives  a  most  accurate  account  of  this  expedition,  which 
lat  the  time  of  sailing  from  Boston,  July  19,  1779,  seemed  to  be  most 
[formidable,  but  which  turned  out  actually  to  be  a  most  unfortunate 
Imdertaking.     Solomon  Lovell  had  served  as  Colonel  of  one  of  the 
Massachusetts  regiments  at  Dorchester  Heights  in  1776;    he  was  re- 
flated to  James   Lovell  Little  and  Luther    Little,    both  of   Boston. 
[Though  the  expedition   was   a  failure,  it   was   through   no   fault   of 
General  Lovell's,  who  showed  himself  throughout  to  be  an  honest, 
[brave  and  competent  officer. 

In  June,  1779,  a  British  force  under  General  McLean  took  possession 
jof  a  peninsula  on  Penobscot  Bay,  now  part  of  Castine,  in  order  to 
jprevent  the  ships  of  Boston,  Newburyport,  Salem  and  Marblehead 
ifrom  making  this  Maine  seaport  their  base  in  their  raids  upon  British 
(commerce.  The  British  troops  then  built  a  fort  two  hundred  and 
Ififty  feet  square,  called  Fort  George,  on  the  high  ground  of  the 
'peninsula.  Its  outline  is  still  standing,  and  the  remains  of  the 
idungeon  are  clearly  visible.  The  interior  to-day  furnishes  a  con- 
venient practice  field  for  the  Castine  Baseball  Club,  and  the  earth- 
works afford  excellent  bunkers  for  the  Castine  Golf  Club. 

The  news  of  the  occupation  of  Castine  by  the  enemy  caused  con- 
sternation among  the  Eastern  Colonies,  and  orders  were  issued  by 
I  the  General  Court  to  fit  out  an  expedition  to  dispossess  the  English 
I  of  their  newly  acquired  territory.     The  Board  of  War  was  ordered  to 
equip  the  Warren  and  the  Providence  and  other  vessels,  to  muster 
1,200  militia  and  100  artillery,  and  to  collect  ammunition,  provisions 
and  supplies  of  all  kinds.     The  fleet  of  nineteen  ships,  under  the 
command  of  Dudley  Saltonstall,  of  New  London,  was  probably  the 
strongest  naval  force  furnished  by  New  England  during  the  Revolution. 
The  cost  was  £1,739,174  lis.  4*d.  and  proved  to  be  a  large  burden  on 
the  Colony. 

[  45  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 


The  expedition  arrived  off  the  Fox  Islands  on  the  24th  of  July,  and 
on  the  26th  the  marines  attacked  one  of  the  enemy's  positions  with 
success,  capturing  their  flag.  General  Lovell  then  decided  that  a 
combined  land  and  naval  attack  should  be  made,  but  Commodore 
Saltonstall  believed  for  some  reason  that  this  would  not  be  a  prudent 
move.  Therefore,  on  the  28th,  General  Lovell  determined  to  carry 
out  his  land  attack  alone.  He  was  completely  successful;  his  soldiers 
scaling  the  precipitous  bluffs  and  capturing  a  position  on  the  plateau 
above.  The  ascent  of  this  cliff  in  the  face  of  veteran  troops  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  exploits  of  the  entire  war.  While 
General  Lovell's  troops  were  encamped  near  Fort  George  one  of 
his  men,  while  going  beyond  the  lines  for  a  pail  of  water,  was  twice 
fired  upon  by  sixty  or  more  English  soldiers,  and  much  to  their  astonish- 
ment the  New  Englander  didn't  receive  a  scratch.  The  Commodore 
still  would  not  agree  to  push  forward  with  his  fleet  until  General 
Lovell  began  his  attack  on  Fort  George,  therefore  the  latter  determined 
to  push  forward  against  the  fort  and  to  rely  upon  the  fleet  to  back 
him  up.  As  the  ships  were  weighing  anchor  a  fleet  of  British  rein- 
forcements was  seen  approaching,  whereupon  the  Massachusetts 
troops  immediately  had  to  retreat  and  embark  on  their  transports. 
Again  Commodore  Saltonstall  would  not  attack,  but  set  sail  for  the 
Bagaduce  River,  at  the  head  of  the  harbour  of  Castine.  There 
was  nothing  now  for  the  soldiers  to  do  except  to  escape  to  shore, 
leaving  their  transports  to  run  aground  or  to  be  captured  by  the 
enemy.  General  Lovell  endeavored  to  collect  his  forces  but  without 
avail,  and  after  much  suffering  and  hardship  he  and  his  men  found 
their  way  back  to  Boston  in  small  detachments.  Captain  Wadsworth 
some  time  later  was  captured  by  the  British  in  his  home  at  Thomaston, 
and  Was  imprisoned  in  a  jail  in  Castine,  from  which  he  made  a  miracu- 
lous escape. 

The  American  ships-of-war  sailed  into  the  Bagaduce  trap  and  were 
all  captured  or  burned.  A  hostile  fleet  of  seven  sail  had  beaten  and 
destroyed  the  entire  fleet  of  nineteen  vessels.  The  defeat  was  a 
disgraceful  one.  Paul  Revere  left  his  ordnance  brig  and  went  ashore 
at  Fort  Pownal.  This  ship,  with  all  the  artillery  and  ammunition, 
was  deserted,  but  made  her  way  alone  up  the  river  for  several  miles, 
where  she  was  finally  burned.  About  twenty-five  of  the  English 
soldiers  died  of  smallpox  a  few  years  later  and  were  buried  on  Lasell's 
Island,  which  is  about  half-way  between  Rockland  and  Islesboro.  It 
is  said  that  their  graves  can  still  be  seen. 

The  failure  of  the  expedition  depleted  the  treasury  of  the  Province 
and  caused  such  excitement  that  the  General  Court  appointed  a 
committee  to  examine  into  and  report  the  causes  of  failure.  This 
committee  consisted  of  Generals  Michael  Farley  and  Jonathan 
Titcomb,  Colonel  Moses  Little,  Major  Samuel  Osgood,  James  Prescott, 
Generals  Artemas  Ward  and  Timothy  Danielson,  Hon.  William 
Sever  and  Francis  Dana.  Artemas  Ward  was  the  chairman.  General 
Lovell  was  entirely  exonerated,  the  blame  being  placed  on  the  failure 
of  the  fleet  to  advance  in  conjunction  with  the  land  forces.  Paul 
Revere  was  somewhat  censured  for  his  conduct,  a  somewhat  extraor- 
dinary happening,  as  he  was  usually  very  efficient  in  his  undertakings. 

[  46  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Besides  being  a  soldier  he  was  a  goldsmith,  coppersmith,  operated 
the  first  powder  mill  in  the  Province,  took  part  in  the  Tea  Party, 
was  an  engraver,  owned  a  bell  foundry  at  the  North  End  and  a 
manufacturing  company  for  copper  bolts,  etc.,  at  Canton,  Mass., 
and  was  also  President  of  the  Mechanics  Charitable  Association. 
It  is  not  generally  known  that  he  as  well  as  many  others  at  this 
.  time  also  practised  dentistry  in  conjunction  with  other  trades,  as 
shown  by  the  following  notices  which  appeared  in  Boston  on  July 
19,  1770:— 

Paul  Revere  takes  this  method  of  returning  his  most  sincere  thanks  to  the 
gentlemen  and  ladies  who  have  employed  him  in  the  care  of  their  teeth.  He 
would  now  inform  them  and  all  others,  who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose 
their  teeth  by  accident  or  otherwise,  that  he  still  continues  the  business  of 
a  dentist  and  flatters  himself  that  from  the  experience  he  has  had  these  two 
years  (in  which  time  he  has  fixt  some  hundreds  of  teeth)  that  he  can  fix  them 
as  well  as  any  Surgeon  Dentist  who  ever  came  from  London.  He  fixes  them 
in  such  a  manner  that  they  are  not  only  an  ornament  but  of  real  use  in  speak- 
ing and  eating;  he  cleanses  the  teeth  and  will  wait  on  any  gentleman  or  lady 
at  their  lodgings.  He  may  be  spoke  with  at  his  shop  opposite  Dr.  Clark's 
at  the  North  End,  where  the  gold  and  silver-smith  business  is  carried  on  in 
all  its  branches. 

Whereas  many  persons  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  lose  their  fore-teeth  by 
accident  and  otherwise,  to  their  great  detriment,  not  only  in  looks  but  speak- 
ing, both  in  public  and  private; — this  is  to  inform  all  such  that  they  may 
have  them  replaced  with  false  ones  that  look  as  well  as  the  natural  and  answer 
the  end  of  speaking  to  all  intents.  By  Paul  Revere,  Goldsmith,  near  the 
head  of  Dr.  Clark's  wharf,  Boston. 

All  persons  who  have  had  false  teeth  fixed  by  Mr.  John  Baker,  Surgeon 
Dentist,  and  they  have  got  loose  (as  they  will  in  time)  may  have  them  fastened 
by  the  above  who  learnt  the  method  of  fixing  them  from  Mr.  Baker. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Castine  has  been  owned  at  different 
times  by  five  nations,  Dutch,  Indians,  French,  English  and  Americans, 
and  several  sea  fights  have  taken  place  between  this  harbour  and  the 
Island  of  Islesboro  directly  opposite.  In  1813  the  English  cut  a  canal 
across  the  mainland  from  the  Bagaduce  River  to  Wadsworth  Cove  to 
enable  their  ships  to  escape  should  they  ever  be  suddenly  attacked. 
The  remains  of  this  canal  can  still  be  seen. 

DR.  JOHN  JEFFRIES  OF  BOSTON— THE  FIRST  AMERICAN 
TO  FLY  OVER  THE  ENGLISH  CHANNEL 

To-day,  when  the  air-craft  is  so  much  talked  about,  it  is  interesting 
and  instructive  to  recall  the  unique  experience  of  Dr.  Jeffries,  who, 
on  January  7,  1785,  flew  across  the  English  Channel  in  a  balloon 
with  a  Frenchman  named  Francois  Blanchard.  The  only  condition 
upon  which  Blanchard  would  take  him  was  that  if  it  were  necessary 
to  lighten  the  balloon  his  guest  should  jump  overboard,  and  there 
were  several  times  on  the  trip  across  when  Dr.  Jeffries  must  have  had 
his  agreement  most  unpleasantly  brought  to  mind.  Even  when  they 
were  making  preparations  to  start,  Blanchard  put  on  a  girdle  to  in- 
crease his  weight  so  that  he  would  have  an  excuse  not  to  take  the 
Bostonian  with  him,  which  wasn't  very  fair,  as  Dr.  Jeffries  had  paid 

[47] 


SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON  EVENTS 


The  column  erected  by  public  authority  to 
commemorate  the  event,  and  placed  in  the  Forest 
of  Guisnes,  on  the  spot  where  Dr.  Jeffries  and 
Mr.  Blanchard  alighted  after  their  aerial  voyage 
from  England  into  France  on  the  7th  of  January, 
1785.  From  a  print  in  the  Bostonian  Society 
rooms. 


all  Blanchard 's  expenses  so  far  and 
had  also  guaranteed  the  cost  of  the 
trip. 

The  cliffs  of  Dover  were  black 
with  people  as  the  balloon  and  its 
two  occupants  sailed  away  toward 
France.  Soon  after  starting  they 
had  to  throw  out  ballast,  then  Dr. 
Jeffries'  pamphlets,  next  their  bis- 
cuits, apples,  etc.,  then  the  orna- 
ments of  the  car,  and  even  the 
only  bottle  they  had  with  them 
(the  contents  of  which  have  never 
been  disclosed!).  Finally,  as  they 
neared  the  French  coast,  the  bal- 
loon again  descended  so  rapidly 
that  they  began  to  throw  over  the 
clothes  they  were  wearing,  one 
article  of  apparel  after  another, 
and  when  finally  Dr.  Jeffries  caught 
hold  of  the  topmost  branch  of  one 
of  the  trees  on  the  shore  of  the 
Continent  and  arrested  the  progress  of  the  balloon,  it  was  necessary 
for  them  both  to  search  for  an  entirely  new  supply  of  clothing.  The 
landing  was  made  near  the  place  where  Henry  the  Eighth,  King  of 
England,  and  Francis  the  First,  King  of  France,  held  their  famous 
interview  on  a  plain  known  afterwards  as  "The  Field  of  Cloth  of 
Gold,"  which  was  between  Ardres  and  Guisnes,  near  Calais.  The 
voyage  consumed  about  three  hours.     A  monument  with  a  balloon-like 

ball  on  its  apex  was  later  erected 
upon  this  spot  in  commemoration 
of  their  wonderful  trip,  and  Blan- 
chard received  a  gift  of  money 
from  the  King.  The  Doctor  read 
a  paper  describing  his  voyage  be- 
fore the  Royal  Society  of  London 
in  January,  1786. 

A  preliminary  trial  took  place 
from  London  to  Kent,  and  Dr. 
Jeffries  was  obliged  to  give  his  pilot 
one  hundred  guineas  before  he  was 
allowed  to  go  as  a  passenger.  The 
place  of  ascent  was  near  Grosvenor 
Square,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
Duchess  of  Devonshire  and  others 
of  the  nobility  being  present. 

For  some  curious  reason  Blan- 
chard had  a  grievance  against 
Dr.  Jeffries,  and  when  he  came  to 
Philadelphia  eight  years  later  he 

in  the  Bostonian  Society  rooms.  publicly     insulted     the     Doctor     by 

[  48  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

placing  on  the  door  of  his  carriage  a  picture  of  Jeffries  in  the  balloon 
holding  a  bottle  of  brandy  to  his  mouth.  A  motto  underneath  inti- 
mated that  he  was  obliged  to  resort  to  this  "Dutch  courage"  to  enable 
him  to  undergo  the  ordeal  of  the  dangerous  trip. 

Dr.  Jeffries  was  born  in  Boston  in  1745  and  was  a  most  interesting 
character.  During  the  Revolution  his  sympathies  were  always  with 
the  British.  General  Joseph  Warren,  the  day  before  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  implored  him  to  "come  over  on  the  right  side,"  and, 
on  the  next  day,  it  was  Dr.  Jeffries  who  found  and  identified  the  body 
of  General  Warren  while  he  was  attending  to  his  duties  as  surgeon 
in  the  King's  army.  He  accompanied  the  English  troops  to  Halifax 
after  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  went  to  London  in  1780  and  returned 
to  Boston  in  1789,  when  he  delivered  the  first  public  lecture  on 
anatomy  ever  given  in  New  England.  His  hobby,  however,  was 
always  ballooning.  Dr.  Jeffries  was  very  popular,  especially  with  the 
old  ladies  of  Boston,  who  usually  called  him  "Dr.  Jeffers."  He  was 
a  consulting  physician,  and  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Green  said  that  if  "he  were 
seen  entering  a  sick  man's  door  it  was  very  likely  to  mean  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  a  'nunc  dimittis.' '      He  died  in  Boston  in  1819. 

THE  FIRST  UNITED  STATES  BANK  IN  BOSTON 

Alexander  Hamilton,  first  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  conceived 
the  idea  of  a  government  bank  as  early  as  1779.  His  belief  was  that 
such  an  institution  would  help  to  support  public  credit  and  that  it 
would  also  enable  the  richer  men  to  co-operate  with  the  Government. 
The  bill  for  its  establishment  was  signed  by  Washington  on  February 
25,  1791,  and  three  branches  opened  in  January  of  the  following  year 
at  Boston,  Baltimore  and  New  York,  the  head  office  being  of  course 
in  Philadelphia.  Five  more  were  added  later  on  in  the  following 
cities :  Norfolk,  Charleston,  Savannah,  New  Orleans  and  Washington. 
The  Boston  Branch  was  the  third  in  size,  with  a  capital  of  $700,000. 
The  total  capital  of  the  Bank  was  $10,000,000,  the  Government  sub- 
scribing $2,000,000  of  this  amount.  The  first  President  of  the  parent 
Bank  was  Thomas  Willing,  and  he  received  the  large  salary  of  $3,000. 
The  first  head  of  the  Boston  Branch  was  Thomas  Russell,  and  the 
cashier  was  Peter  Roe  Dalton.  George  Cabot,  a  close  friend  of  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  became  President  of  the  Boston  Branch  in  1810. 
The  parent  institution  had  twenty-five  directors  and  each  branch 
nine.  Among  some  of  the  earliest  of  the  Boston  directors  we  find 
the  names  of  Joseph  Barrell,  John  Codman,  Caleb  Davis,  Christopher 
Gore,  John  C.  Jones,  John  Lowell,  Theodore  Lyman,  J.  Mason,  Jr., 
Joseph  Russell,  Jr.,  David  Sears,  Israel  Thorndike  and  William 
Wetmore. 

Within  four  years  after  the  opening  of  the  United  States  Bank  the 
Government  had  to  borrow  two-thirds  of  its  total  capital,  and  Presi- 
dent Willing  was  placed  in  the  embarrassing  situation  of  being 
obliged  to  ask  to  have  this  loan  reduced.  Accordingly,  in  1797  the 
Government  had  to  sell  its  shares,  which  netted  a  huge  profit  of 
$671,860  on  the  original  investment.  Most  of  this  stock  was  sold 
abroad  at  $145  per  share,  and  the  purchasers  later  on  suffered  severe 

[  49  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 


losses.  In  1811  the  Bank's  charter  expired.  There  then  ensued  *a 
party  dispute,  and  as  the  Democrats  had  an  assured  majority  in 
Congress,  it  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  fate  of  the  Bank  was 
sealed.  Gallatin  favored  a  renewal  of  the  charter,  but  many  were 
opposed  to  this  plan,  owing  to  the  fact  that  such  a  large  amount  of 
stock  had  been  sold  in  Europe,  and  it  was  feared  that  this  would  mean 
sending  money  abroad.  The  vote  in  the  Senate  was  a  tie,  17  to  17,  and 
Vice-President  Clinton,  an  enemy  of  Gallatin's,  cast  the  deciding  vote, 
and  the  First  Bank  of  the  United  States  perished  on  March  14,  1811. 
The  Bank  liquidated  at  109,  the  stock  having  sold  in  1802  at  $153  a 
share.  It  was  brought  out  in  the  debates  in  Congress  that  the  Boston 
Branch  was  conducted  with  "correctness,  integrity  and  impartiality." 


.  ////// 


//////'      OFFU'K   OK  DISrOlTVT    A5»   DKFOKlTi 


v/   /j/////', 


M<? 


/Y/ 


/- 


a<t 


Hk  itnitt)  &hb«  mi  n,r   ftigiutun*  oi  the  IflwiiitttUnJ  if  .wlncr  of  Bh 

^  Off,,.  ti„,    /'  knrf     J<<    /  /i; ./■ 


'X-T* 


Certificate  of  unredeemed  stock  of  the  Second  United  States  Bank.     Photographed  through  the 
kindness  of  Mr.  F.  H.  Curtiss  of  the  Federal  Reserve  Bank  of  Boston. 

The  deposits  just  before  closing  amounted  to  only  $7,800,000,  Boston 
having  $1,500,000.  The  largest  Government  deposit  at  any  time 
was  $5,500,000,  which  would  seem  small  to-day;  the  largest  in  Boston 
was  $1,173,000  in  1806.  United  States  deposits  drew  no  interest. 
The  Bank  from  the  income  point  of  view  was  most  successful,  paying 
an  average  of  8Jf  per  cent,  to  its  shareholders.  The  first  location 
was  on  the  site  of  the  present  Brazer  Building;  later,  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Exchange  Building,  and  finally  on  Congress  Street,  near 
State  Street. 

Some  of  the  early  rules  of  the  Bank  are  most  interesting.  One 
by-law  provided  that  the  rate  on  loans  should  never  be  below  5  per 
cent,  nor  over  6  per  cent.  There  were  only  two  days  a  week  when 
discounts  could  be  submitted,  and  the  Bank  had  two  days  to  decide 
on  loans.  No  borrower  could  obtain  money  for  over  sixty  days,  and 
in  most  of  the  few  banks  existing  at  this  time  no  one  could  borrow 
over  $5,000,  and  every  loan  had  to  be  paid  at  maturity. 

[  50  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

The  Second  United  States  Bank  was  started  in  1817  and  dissolved 
in  1836,  chiefly  owing  to  the  fact  that  President  Jackson  withdrew 
all  the  government  deposits  in  1833.  The  capital  was  $35,000,000, 
of  which  the  Government  subscribed  $7,000,000.  The  Boston  Branch 
endeavored  to  purchase  the  Old  State  House,  but  finally  erected  a 
fine  building  on  the  present  site  of  the  Merchants  Bank.  The  pillars 
furnished  such  desirable  roosting  places  for  pigeons  that  the  President 
had  wooden  cats  placed  where  the  pigeons  were  accustomed  to  perch. 
They  were  at  first  frightened  away,  but  later  could  be  seen  roosting 
even  on  the  cats  themselves. 


LAUNCHING  OF  THE   " CONSTITUTION" 

"Come  all  ye  Yankee  heroes,  come  listen  to  my  song, 
I'll  tell  you  of  a  bloody  fight  before  that  it  be  long, 
It  was  of  the  Constitution,  from  Boston  she  set  sail, 
To  cruise  along  the  coast,  my  boys,  our  rights  for  to  maintain." 

After  two  unsuccessful  attempts  Old  Ironsides,  the  "Pride  of  the 
American  Navy,"  was  launched  on  October  21,  1797.  Only  a  few 
people  were  present.  On  the  first  previous  attempt  she  slid  only  eight 
feet  down  the  ways  and  disappointed  hundreds  of  spectators  who  lined 
the  shore  of  Noddle's  Island,  now  East  Boston.  The  second  attempt 
was  also  a  failure,  and  the  Constitution  was  considered  an  "ill-fated 
ship."  At  half  past  twelve  on  that  cold  October  day  she  glided  grace- 
fully upon  the  water,  Captain  Nicholson,  her  commander,  breaking 
over  her  bows  a  bottle  of  choice  Madeira  from  the  cellar  of  the  Hon. 
Thomas  Russell,  one  of  Boston's  leading  merchants.  The  launching 
took  place  at  Edmund  Hart's  shipyard,  now  known  as  Constitution 
Wharf,  on  Atlantic  Avenue.  An  incident  occurred  just  before  the 
launching  that  aroused  Commodore  Nicholson's  wrath.  He  gave 
notice  that  he  himself  wished  to  hoist  the  flag,  but  while  he  was  at 
lunch  two  workmen,  Samuel  Bentley  and  Isaac  Harris,  raised  the 
Stars  and  Stripes.  Harris  atoned  for  his  mistake  by  climbing  some 
years  after  to  the  roof  of  the  Old  South  Church  and  putting  out  a 
serious  fire  that  threatened  its  destruction. 

The  Constitution  was  designed  by  Joshua  Humphreys,  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  was  constructed  under  the  guidance  of  Colonel  George  Clag- 
horne,  of  New  Bedford.  Her  length  was  175  feet,  and  she  carried  400 
men.  Her  cost  was  $302,718.84.  She  was  distinctly  a  Boston  ship. 
John  T.  Morgan,  a  Boston  shipwright,  chose  the  wood ;  Paul  Revere 
furnished  the  copper  bolts  and  spikes  for  $3,820.33,  by  a  process  known 
only  to  him;  and  Ephraim  Thayer,  whose  shop  was  in  the  South  End, 
made  the  gun  carriages.  The  same  Isaac  Harris,  just  mentioned,  made 
her  new  masts  in  1812.  Her  sails  were  made  in  the  Old  Granary, 
which  stood  on  the  site  of  Park  Street  Church,  her  anchors  were  made 
at  Hanover,  Mass.,  and  the  duck  for  the  sails  was  manufactured  by  a 
company  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Tremont  and  Boylston  Streets. 
Boston  was  not  only  the  city  of  her  birth,  but  the  home  to  which  she 
returned  after  many  of  her  triumphs.  In  1812  Commodore  Hull 
brought  her  into  Boston  Harbour  after  his  wonderful  escape  from  the 

[  51  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

British  squadron,  then  later  she  came  in  after  the  fight  with  the 
Guerriere;  and  still  again  Commodore  Bainbridge  brought  her  home 
after  having  captured  the  Java.  Commodore  Macdonough  com- 
manded her  when  she  sailed  from  Boston  in  1826.  No  ship  ever  saw 
so  much  action  or  had  such  a  romantic  history.  Her  glorious  career  is 
chiefly  responsible  for  the  downfall  of  England's  naval  supremacy 
at  this  time.     Before  the  war  of  1812  Great  Britain  had  boasted  that 

"Others  may  use  the  ocean  as  their  road, 
Only  the  English  make  it  their  abode." 


The  "Constitution"  and  other  American  ships-of-war  bombarding  Tripoli.     From  an  old  print. 


In  the  early  part  of  April  of  1814,  the  Constitution  was  chased  into 
Marblehead  by  the  Montague,  and  it  was  reported  that  three  frigates 
were  in  pursuit.  The  New  England  Guards  marched  to  her  defence, 
but  discovered  when  they  were  almost  there  that  they  had  forgotten 
every  bit  of  ammunition.  One  of  the  company  was  Abbott  Lawrence, 
afterwards  our  Minister  to  England,  who  hurried  out  to  join  his 
troops  in  his  pumps,  which  he  finally  contrived  to  exchange  with  a 
countryman  for  a  pair  of  brogans  and  with  the  loss  of  five  dollars. 

The  Constitution  was  hauled  out  in  the  new  dry-docks  in  1833 
and  launched  again  in  June  of  the  next  year,  having  been  thoroughly 
overhauled  by  Josiah  Barker,  whose  shipyard  occupied  the  site  of 
the  present  Navy  Yard.  In  this  yard  there  is  one  of  the  famous 
umbrellas  that  was  used  to  warp  the  frigate  away  from  Broke's 
squadron,  in  July,  1812.  At  this  time  occurred  the  affair  of  the 
figurehead.     An    image    of    President    Andrew    Jackson    had    been 

[  52] 


SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON  EVENTS 

placed  on  the  bow,  and  this  action  caused  much  dissatisfaction,  as 
the  President  had  become  very  unpopular.  On  the  3rd  of  July 
Captain  Samuel  Dewey  performed  the  daring  feat  of  sawing  off  the 
head,  and  upon  his  return  to  shore  he  and  his  friends  celebrated  the 
event.  The  author  of  the  deed  remained  undiscovered  for  some 
time,  but  finally  he  took  the  head  to  Dickinson,  then  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  saying  that  he  wished  to  return  it  to  the  Government. 
The  morning  after  the  strange  disappearance  of  the  figurehead 
young  Dewey  was  missing.  His  mother  suspected  that  her  son 
knew  who  was  responsible,  so  she  went  down  to  the  back  yard  and 


FRIGATE    "CONSTITUTION"    PETITION. 

Taken  three-quarters  of  an  hour  before  Congress  convened.  The  only  petition  which  was  ever 
placed  on  the  floor  of  the  House  in  the  whole  history  of  the  United  States.  Congressman  McCall 
presented  it. 

licked  the  sole  of  one  of  his  boots  which  was  hanging  on  the  line. 
It  tasted  of  salt,  which  confirmed  her  suspicions.  The  Constitution 
sailed  with  a  piece  of  canvas  painted  to  represent  the  American 
Flag  over  the  beheaded  image.  At  New  York  a  new  head  was  put 
on  and  this  time  with  a  copper  bolt. 

The  Constitution  has  often  been  represented  on  the  stage,  and  one 
of  the  most  exciting  scenes  showed  the  Guerriere 's  mast  going  over- 
board and  Commodore  Hull  repeating  his  famous  remark,  "Hurrah, 
my  boys,  we've  made  a  brig  of  her,  next  time  we'll  make  her  a  sloop." 

In  190G  Mr.  Eric  Pape  was  instrumental  in  having  a  petition  signed 
which  was  presented  to  Congress  and  which  saved  the  Constitution 
from  being  taken  out  to  sea  and  used  as  a  target,  as  had  been  suggested. 
This   petition,  a  picture   of  which  we   show  in   the   cut   above,  was 

[  53  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

signed  by  the  Governor  and  almost  all  the  living  ex-Governors  of  the 
Commonwealth,  by  seventy  Mayors  and  ex-Mayors,  by  twenty- 
five  survivors  of  the  crew,  by  twelve  of  Bainbridge's  grandchildren 
and  by  many  of  the  descendants  of  Stewart  and  Hull;  also  one  of 
the  signatures  on  the  petition  was  that  of  Mrs.  Susan  L.  Clarke,  of 
Boston,  who  was  almost  ninety  years  old  at  the  time,  and  who  was 
a  daughter  of  the  fifer  of  the  Constitution  in  all  of  her  three  great  battles. 
The  paper  was  also  signed  by  thirty  thousand  other  citizens  of  this 
Commonwealth.  The  petition  was  divided  into  three  parts,  one  of 
which  was  open  for  public  signatures  at  City  Hall,  one  at  the  old 
State  House,  and  the  third  at  the  Branch  Office  of  the  State  Street 
Trust  Company.  It  measured  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  long,  and 
the  names  are  signed  nine  and  ten  abreast. 

The  wonderful  verses  of  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  are  also  responsible 
to  a  large  extent  for  her  preservation: — 

"Oh,  better  that  her  shattered  hulk 
Should  sink  beneath  the  wave; 
Her  thunders  shook  the  mighty  deep, 
And  there  should  be  her  grave. 
Nail  to  the  mast  her  holy  flag, 
Set  every  threadbare  sail, 
And  give  her  to  the  God  of  storms, 
The  lightning  and  the  gale." 

It  is  with  pride  that  Boston  people  will  look  back  and  remem- 
ber that  to  Massachusetts  and  especially  to  Boston  belongs  the  credit 
of  having  saved  Old  Ironsides. 

LAFAYETTE  LAYS  THE  CORNER-STONE  OF  BUNKER  HILL 

MONUMENT 

Lafayette,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven,  journeyed  almost  five  thou- 
sand miles  through  sixteen  Republics  in  less  than  four  months  in  order 
to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument  at  the  celebra- 
tion commemorating  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill.  Few  persons  believed  that  he  would  really  come  over  here, 
and  when  he  appeared  at  the  State  House  on  the  16th  of  June,  in  the 
year  1825,  the  people  of  New  England  were  almost  wild  with  de- 
light. He  was  met  by  Governor  Lincoln,  the  Senate,  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  City  officials,  and  in  reply  to  the  addresses  of  welcome, 
he  said  that  Bunker  Hill  had  been  the  pole-star  upon  which  his 
eyes  had  been  fixed.  While  here  he  stayed  at  the  house  of  Senator 
Lloyd  in  Pemberton  Square. 

The  procession,  which  was  in  charge  of  General  Lyman,  was  headed 
by  two  hundred  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  followed  by 
forty  veterans  who  had  taken  part  in  the  fight  at  Bunker  Hill. 
Many  of  them  wore  the  same  cartridge  boxes  they  used  fifty  years 
before,  and  one  old  soldier  carried  the  same  drum  that  he  had  with 
him  in  the  battle.  Before  the  procession  started  Mayor  Quincy, 
who  was  master  of  ceremonies,  had  the  honor  of  introducing  the 
survivors  of  the  great  battle  to  Lafayette,  and  the  ceremony  must 
have  been  pathetic  and  impressive.     He  was  drawn  in  the  parade 

[  54  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

by  six  white  horses.  The  head  of  the  procession  reached  the  monu- 
ment before  the  rear  had  left  the  Common.  The  pyramid  which 
had  been  built  on  the  hill  had  been  removed,  and  from  one  of  the 
timbers  a  cane  had  been  turned  out,  which  was  presented,  suitably 
inscribed,  to  the  man  who  at  the  age  of  nineteen  volunteered  his 
services  and  risked  his  life  to  help  make  America  free. 

Lafayette  then  laid  the  corner-stone  according  to  Masonic  regula- 
tions. The  addresses  were  made  in  a  huge  amphitheatre  on  the 
northeast  side  of  the  hill,  Lafayette  occupying  a  seat  on  the  front 
part  of  the  platform,  with  the  survivors  of  the  battle  just  behind  him. 
He  himself  was  the  last  surviving  Major  General  of  the  American 
Revolutionary  Army.  Dr.  Dexter,  who  had  been  in  the  battle, 
offered  the  prayer,  and  Daniel  Webster  was  the  orator  of  the  day. 
When  he  had  finished  his  speech  some  one  in  the  audience  was  intro- 
duced to  him.  He  said  he  couldn't  believe  he  really  was  Daniel 
Webster,  the  wonderful  orator,  because  he  understood  every  word  he 
said.  A  banquet  was  held  immediately  after  the  addresses,  and  Lafay- 
ette proposed  his  well-known  toast,  which  is  especially  interesting  in 
view  of  the  frightful  condition  in  which  Europe  finds  herself  to-day. 
His  words  were:  "Bunker  Hill,  and  that  holy  resistance  to  oppression, 
which  has  already  enfranchised  the  American  hemisphere.  The  anni- 
versary toast  at  the  jubilee  of  the  next  half  century  will  be,  to  Europe 
freed."  Mr.  Thomas  Upham,  now  living  at  332  Commonwealth  Ave- 
nue, was  present  when  the  corner-stone  was  laid  ninety-one  years  ago. 

Daniel  Webster  later  held  a  large  reception  for  Lafayette,  and  in  order 
to  accommodate  his  many  guests  he  cut  a  door  into  the  adjoining  house 
belonging  to  Israel  Thorndike.  The  General  also  attended  a  recep- 
tion at  the  house  of  Mr.  R.  C.  Derby,  and  he  was  there  introduced 
to  a  lady  with  whom  he  had  danced  a  minuet  forty-seven  years  before. 
Dr.  Bowditch  describes  how  he  determined  to  watch  the  procession 
from  the  steps  of  a  house,  and  to  his  surprise  found  himself  running 
along  beside  Lafayette's  carriage  yelling  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  It  was 
on  Lafayette's  visit  the  year  before,  in  1824,  that  he  agreed  to  return  to 
take  part  in  the  Bunker  Hill  celebration.  As  he  passed  the  residence 
of  the  late  John  Hancock,  Mayor  Quincy  turned  to  Lafayette  and 
said  that  the  widow  of  his  deceased  friend  was  sitting  in  the  window 
opposite  the  carriage.  He  immediately  turned  and  placed  his  hand 
on  his  heart,  whereupon  she  burst  into  tears  and  said,  "I  have  lived 
long  enough."  The  words  in  the  arch  which  was  placed  over  Wash- 
ington Street  expressed  the  deep  feeling  of  love  and  veneration  in 
which  Lafayette  was  held  by  all  Americans.  The  last  two  lines  of 
the  inscription  were, — 

"We  bow  not  the  neck,  and  we  bend  not  the  knee; 
But  our  hearts,  Lafayette,  we  surrender  to  thee." 

He  also  visited   Governor  Brooks   at  Medford.     An  arch  over  the 
meeting-house  had  on  it  the  following: — 

"General  Lafayette,  Welcome  to  our  Hills  and  Brooks." 

Lafayette  said  good-bye  to  Boston  for  the  last  time  on  June  22, 
1825,  to  go  on  a  tour  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont.  As 
he  left  Mayor  Quincy  at  the  State  line  he  kissed  him.     In  describing 

[  55  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

the  parting  to  one  of  his  friends  of  the  fairer  sex,  she  replied,  "If 
Lafayette  had  kissed  me,  I  would  never  have  washed  my  face  again.'* 
The  French  refused  to  allow  his  American  friends  to  erect  a  statue 
of  him  in  Paris,  but  later  the  Government  of  France  presented  to  New 
York  his  statue  which  now  stands  in  Central  Park.  Lafayette  died 
in  1834.  This  country  should  never  forget  that  France  emptied  her 
arsenals  and  impoverished  herself  to  help  America. 

THE  GRANITE  RAILWAY   COMPANY— THE   FIRST 
RAILROAD   IN  AMERICA 

The  Granite  Railway  was  the  first  railroad  built  in  America.  The 
road  was  about  three  and  one-half  miles  in  length  and  ran  from  "fur- 
nace lot"  and  several  of  the  quarries  in  Quincy  through  East  Milton 
to  a  wharf  which  was  built  at  an  expense  of  $30,000  at  the  elbow 
in  the  Neponset  River  not  far  from  Granite  Bridge.  This  old  wharf 
is  still  in  existence  and  is  used  now  by  boys  for  swimming.  The  origin 
of  the  road  is  interesting.  In  1824  Joshua  Torrey  of  Quincy  began  to 
build  a  canal  to  save  part  of  the  long  cartage  for  granite,  and  in  the 
following  year  some  enterprising  citizens  formed  the  Quincy  Canal  Cor- 
poration, which  enabled  small  sloops  to  approach  within  a  mile  of  the 
quarries  in  Quincy.  Both  of  these  enterprises,  however,  ended  in 
failure.  About  this  same  time  Gridley  Bryant,  a  noted  engineer  in 
Boston,  purchased,  with  Dr.  John  C.  Warren,  a  stone  quarry  in 
Quincy,  since  called  the  Bunker  Hill  Quarry.  Bryant  and  Colonel 
Thomas  H.  Perkins  had  heard  of  the  possibility  of  the  building  of  the 
Manchester  and  Liverpool  Railroad  in  England  and  conceived  the  idea 
of  starting  the  Granite  Railway  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  large 
quantities  of  the  excellent  granite  for  the  construction  of  Bunker 
Hill  Monument.  In  spite  of  a  great  deal  of  opposition  in  the  Legis- 
lature the  Charter  for  the  Granite  Railway  Company  was  obtained 
in  March,  1826,  the  incorporators  being  Colonel  Perkins,  William 
Sullivan,  Amos  Lawrence,  David  Moody,  Gridley  Bryant,  the  builder 
of  the  road,  and  Solomon  Willard,  the  architect  of  the  monument. 
Many  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature  quite  naturally  questioned 
the  incorporators  of  the  enterprise  as  to  what  they  knew  about  rail- 
roads, wondering,  at  the  same  time,  whether  it  was  right  to  empower 
a  corporation  to  purchase  people's  land  for  a  project  about  which  so 
little  was  known.  It  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  Amos  Lawrence 
bought  a  quarry  in  Gloucester,  believing  that  it  might  assist  in  build- 
ing the  monument,  in  which  he  was  much  interested.  There  were, 
however,  no  facilities  for  transporting  this  granite,  and  this  property 
was  handed  down  through  several  generations  of  the  family,  until 
last  year  when  it  was  sold  by  the  executors  of  the  estate  of  Amory 
A.  Lawrence.  The  first  cars  passed  over  the  Granite  Railway  Com- 
pany's Road  on  October  7,  1826,  the  train  of  several  cars  being  drawn 
by  horses.  The  gradual  descent  from  Quincy  to  the  water  made  it  a 
simple  matter  to  transport  the  granite,  and  the  horses  were  easily 
able  to  drag  the  empty  cars  back.  The  road  was  operated  by 
horse-power  for  forty  years,  then  remained  idle  for  a  short  time,  and 
in  1871  was  purchased  by  the  Old  Colony  Railroad.    The  spur  track 

[  56  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

from  the  wharf  to  the  Granite  Branch  was  operated  by  oxen  as 
late  as  1899,  when  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  sent  its  first  engine  as  far 
as  the  quarry. 

The  road  was  constructed  in  the  following  manner:  Its  gauge 
was  five  feet,  and  stone  sleepers  were  placed  about  eight  feet  apart. 
Upon  these  sleepers  wooden  rails  six  inches  wide  and  twelve  inches 
high  were  placed.  Iron  plates  three  inches  wide  and  one-fourth  of  an 
inch  thick  were  fastened  with  spikes  to  these  rails.  At  all  public 
crossings  stone  rails  were  used,  upon  which  the  iron  plates  were  firmly 
bolted  to  the  stone.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  wooden  rails  began 
to  decay,  and  stone  rails  were  substituted,  the  original  sleepers  being 


i-^7'' 

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fi 


Map  showing  location  of  the  Granite  Railway  from  Quincy  Quarries  to  Neponset  River.     From 
an  original  print  in  the  possession  of  the  Quincy  Historical  Society. 

used.  On  account  of  its  construction  the  upkeep  of  the  road  for  a 
good  many  years  was  less  than  ten  dollars  a  year.  Parts  of  the  old 
road  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  passing  southerly  over  the  route  of  the 
first  railroad  in  America  is  seen  one  of  the  old  railroad  frogs  and  a 
section  of  the  superstructure  now  standing  at  Squantum  Street,  East 
Milton,  on  the  line  of  the  Granite  Branch  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven 
&  Hartford  Railroad.  This  frog  and  old  stone  rail  were  exhibited  at 
the  Chicago  Fair.  The  capital  of  the  enterprise  was  originally  $100,000, 
which  was  later  increased  to  $250,000.  The  cost  was  about  $60,000 
per  mile.  In  1846  permission  was  given  to  the  road  to  cross  Granite 
Bridge  and  join  a  branch  railroad  about  to  be  constructed  from  Milton 
village  to  the  Old  Colony  Railroad,  to  be  called  the  Dorchester  & 
Milton  Branch  Railroad.  The  company  was  also  authorized  to 
construct  branches  not  over  one  and  one-half  miles  in  length  which 

[  57  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

must  be  placed  within  half  a  mile  of  the  quarry.  Passengers  were 
also  allowed  to  be  carried.  The  Company  started  solely  as  a  railroad 
proposition,  then  purchased  its  own  quarry  in  Quincy,  and  later 
another  one  in  Concord,  N.H.  The  contract  to  supply  stones  to  the 
Bunker  Hill  Monument  specified  a  charge  of  50c.  per  ton  for  carrying 
the  stone  from  the  quarry  to  the  wharf  at  Milton  and  an  additional 
sum  of  40c.  for  each  ton  conveyed  from  there  to  Charlestown.  The 
railroad  purchased  the  vessel  Robin  Hood  in  order  to  carry  out  the 
latter  part  of  this  contract. 

Every  share  of  stock  was  bought  up  by  Colonel  Perkins,  and  when 
he  died  in  1854  his  holdings  were  sold  to  several  individuals  who  con- 
tinued to  work  the  quarries  with  great  profit  until  1864  when  the 
stock  again  changed  hands.  In  1870  the  officers  and  directors  were: 
President,  John  S.  Tyler;   Vice-President,  John  C.  Pratt;   Treasurer, 


*%L 


Train  of  cars  on  the  Granite  Railway,  and  Railway  Hotel.     From  an  original  print  in  the 
possession  of  the  Quincy  Historical  Society. 


George  Lewis;  the  Directors  being  Benjamin  Bradley,  John  Felt  Os- 
good, William  B.  Sewall,  John  D.  Parker,  and  the  Treasurer,  George 
Lewis.  Mr.  Henry  E.  Sheldon,  who  only  recently  died  in  East  Milton, 
was  the  General  Manager  from  1876  to  1898. 

Some  of  the  later  directors  of  the  Company  were  Harold  J.  Coolidge, 
W.  S.  Patten,  and  Dr.  John  A.  Lamson.  Luther  S.  Anderson,  of 
Quincy,  assumed  the  management  of  the  Company  in  April,  1899,  and 
in  1907  he  was  appointed  treasurer,  which  office,  together  with  that 
of  manager,  he  held  until  his  death  in  September,  1914.  Many  im- 
portant changes  in  the  plant  were  made  during  his  term  of  office,  so 
that,  at  his  death,  it  was  accounted  the  most  valuable  quarry  property 
in  Quincy.  Under  the  present  officers  the  same  progressive  methods 
are  being  pursued.  At  this  time  Henry  M.  Faxon,  of  Quincy,  is 
president  and  treasurer;  Charles  E.  Morey,  of  Boston,  vice-president; 
Stillman  P.  Williams,  Henry  H.  Kimball,  and  Alva  Morrison,  directors. 

Quincy  granite  was,  and  is,  well  known,  and  many  important  build- 
ings have  been  built  of  this  material,  including  the  old  Boston  Custom 

[  58  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

House,  the  old  Tremont  House,  the  old  Astor  House  in  New  York, 
Boston  City  Hall,  the  old  Horticultural  Hall,  the  old  Equitable  Life 
Assurance  Society  Building  in  New  York,  as  well  as  several  buildings 
belonging  to  prominent  insurance  companies  in  Hartford,  Conn., 
and  also  the  New  Orleans  Custom  House.  Before  1800  the  quarries 
were  worked  very  little. 

MAYOR  THEODORE  LYMAN  PROTECTS  WILLIAM  LLOYD 
GARRISON  FROM  THE   MOB 

William  Lloyd  Garrison  would  undoubtedly  have  been  ducked  in 
the  "Frog  Pond,"  and  might  have  lost  his  life,  had  not  Theodore 
Lyman,  who  was  Mayor  of  Boston  at  the  time,  held  a  mob  at  bay 
long  enough  to  enable  the  great  anti-slavery  agitator  to  escape. 

A  meeting  of  the  Female  Anti-Slavery  Society  was  arranged  for 
October  21,  1835,  at  the  office  of  the  Liberator,  which  was  Garrison's 
newspaper.  It  was  believed  that  George  Thompson,  a  Scotch  aboli- 
tionist, was  going  to  speak,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the 
meeting  anonymous  handbills  were  distributed  announcing  that  the 
"infamous  foreigner"  intended  to  "hold  forth,"  and  calling  upon 
the  citizens  to  "snake  him  out."  A  purse  of  one  hundred  dollars  was 
offered  to  the  man  "who  would  first  lay  violent  hands  on  Thompson, 
so  that  he  may  be  brought  to  the  tar-kettle  before  dark."  Mayor 
Lyman  therefore  sent  a  messenger  to  Mr.  Garrison  to  find  out  whether 
the  objectionable  Thompson  was  going  to  put  in  an  appearance,  and 
learning  that  he  was  not  even  in  Boston  he  consequently  took  no 
unusual  precautions  to  prevent  disturbance.  There  was,  however,  a 
large  crowd  in  front  of  the  Liberator  office,  and  only  about  thirty 
women  were  able  to  force  their  way  into  the  hall. 

The  Mayor  was  soon  told  that  it  looked  as  if  there  would  be  a  riot, 
and  he  therefore  went  to  the  lecture  room  with  more  constables. 

Thousands  of  people  in  the  street  cried  for  "Thompson!  Thompson!" 
The  Mayor  promptly  assured  them  that  he  was  not  even  in  Boston, 
and  begged  them  to  disperse,  but  their  vengeance  turned  on  Garrison, 
with  shouts  of  "We  must  have  Garrison!  Out  with  him!  Lynch 
him!"  The  Mayor  with  a  few  police  officers  held  the  staircase  and 
kept  the  mob  back.  He  then  went  upstairs  and  induced  the  women 
to  leave  the  hall,  and  the  next  step  he  took  was  to  persuade  Garrison 
to  escape  by  the  rear  passage  of  the  building.  While  the  sign  of  the 
Society  was  being  torn  down  and  destroyed,  Garrison  got  out  of  the 
rear  window  onto  a  shed  from  which  he  entered  a  carpenter's  shop 
in  hopes  of  being  able  to  get  into  Wilson's  Lane.  Unfortunately  he 
was  discovered  by  the  crowd  and  had  to  hide  in  a  corner  behind  a 
pile  of  boards.  Several  of  the  rioters  again  found  him  and  dragged 
him  to  a  window  with  the  intention  of  hurling  him  to  the  ground. 
Some  one  relented,  however,  and  suggested  that  they  "shouldn't  kill 
him  outright."  A  rope  was  tied  around  his  body,  and  he  was  lowered 
down  a  ladder  into  the  hands  of  the  angry  mob.  A  friendly  voice 
yelled,  "He  shan't  be  hurt!  He  is  an  American!"  which  seemed 
somewhat  to  calm  the  crowd,  who  dragged  him  in  his  shirt  sleeves 
through  Wilson's  Lane  into  State  Street,  in  the  rear  of  City  Hall, 

[  59  ] 


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SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON  EVENTS 

then  the  Old  State  House,  shouting,  "To  the  Common!  To  the 
Frog  Pond  with  him ! "  Garrison  was  rescued  and  taken  by  the  Mayor 
and  the  City  authorities  into  the  City's  rooms  in  the  Old  State  House, 
where  he  was  supplied  with  new  pantaloons,  coat,  stock,  cap,  etc. 
Here  Mayor  Lyman  again  defied  the  crowd,  declaring  that  the  Law  must 
be  maintained,  and  furthermore  that  he  would  lay  down  his  life  on 
the  spot  to  preserve  order.  He  then  made  an  address  to  the  people 
outside.  After  careful  deliberation  it  was  decided  that  the  only 
safe  place  for  Garrison  was  the  jail,  and  therefore  with  his  consent 
he  was  considered  a  rioter  and  ordered  by  Sheriff  Parkman  to  the 
Leverett  Street  jail.  The  rioters  followed  the  carriage,  but  the  driver 
had  a  good  pair  of  horses  and  a  long  whip  which  enabled  him  to  elude 
his  pursuers,  who  tried  to  hold  on  to  the  horses  and  the  wheels  of 
the  carriage,  and  even  tried  to  cut  the  traces  and  reins  and  to  pull 
Garrison  out  of  the  window.  The  Mayor  ran  on  foot  and  arrived 
just  before  the  hack.  It  was  said  that  Garrison  thoroughly  appreciated 
this  happy  contrivance,  meaning  the  prison,  and  in  a  public  meeting  he 
jokingly  said  that  he  was  never  so  glad  to  get  into  a  jail  in  his  life. 

At  this  time  Boston  really  had  no  police,  only  about  thirty  night 
watchmen  and  six  day  watchmen.  It  can  be  readily  seen  what  a 
difficult  task  the  Mayor  had  in  quelling  the  riot  without  bloodshed. 
A  gallows  had  been  erected  in  front  of  Garrison's  door,  and  it  was 
therefore  thought  advisable  to  guard  his  house  that  night. 

THE  FIRST  ETHER  OPERATION 

The  "Death  of  Pain,"  so  called  by  Dr.  Weir  Mitchell,  took  place 
on  October  16,  1846,  when  the  first  public  operation  was  performed 
with  the  aid  of  ether.  The  credit  for  this  discovery,  which  was  the 
greatest  gift  of  American  medicine  to  mankind,  belongs  chiefly  to 
Dr.  W.  T.  G.  Morton,  though  others  doubtless  deserve  some  credit. 
Dr.  Crawford  W.  Long  of  Georgia  holds  the  honor  of  making  the 
first  trial  of  ether  inhalation  in  surgical  operations;  and  Dr.  Horace 
Wells,  a  dentist  of  Hartford,  and  once  a  partner  of  Dr.  Morton,  a 
few  years  later,  administered  gas  while  extracting  teeth.  Dr.  Wells 
at  one  time  journeyed  to  Boston  to  exhibit  his  discovery,  but  the 
result  was  such  a  failure  that  the  poor  dentist  returned  to  Hartford 
and  died  suddenly  while  experimenting  with  chloroform. 

Dr.  Morton's  life  is  most  varied  and  interesting.  He  was  born 
near  Worcester  in  1819,  but,  being  obliged  to  leave  school  early  in 
life,  he  moved  to  Boston,  where  he  entered  a  publishing  house.  His 
partners  duped  him,  and  he  then  determined  to  study  dentistry  in 
Baltimore.  Previous  to  his  discovery  patients  were  given  brandy, 
laudanum,  and  even  opium  in  some  cases.  Occasionally  mesmerism 
was  tried  with  doubtful  results.  Usually,  however,  surgeons  relied 
upon  their  own  strength  to  hold  down  the  patient,  often  using  pulleys 
to  set  the  limb.  Dr.  Morton  at  once  realized  the  relief  that  the 
application  of  ether  would  be  to  dentistry,  and  he  gave  his  whole 
time  to  the  study  of  medicine  and  different  gases  at  the  Massachusetts 
General  Hospital.  He  soon  established  a  "tooth  mill"  to  manu- 
facture artificial  teeth,  and  this  plant  was  supposed  to  "supply  teeth 

[  61  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

which  would  rival  those  of  the  freshest  country  beauties."  He  gave  up 
a  lucrative  business  and  valuable  clients,  such  as  William  Ropes, 
Alexander  H.  Ladd,  of  Portsmouth,  Andrew  Robeson,  Mrs.  Charles 
T.  Jackson,  and  others,  to  further  his  investigation.  His  first  experi- 
ment was  upon  his  dog,  and  was  so  successful  that  he  jocosely  told  his 
friend,  Dr.  Hay  den,  and  his  lawyer,  R.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  that  soon  he 
should  have  his  "patients  come  in  at  one  door,  having  all  their  teeth 
extracted  without  pain,  and  then,  going  into  the  next  room,  have  a  full 
set  put  in."  A  short  time  later  while  again  etherizing  his  dog  the 
animal  struck  his  ether  bottle  and  broke  it.  Morton  placed  his 
handkerchief  over  the  broken  bottle  and  then  holding  it  to  his  nostrils 


Room  in  Massachusetts  General  Hospital  arranged  as  it  was  when  the  first  ether  operation  was 
performed.     It  is  in  this  room  that  the  anniversary  exercises  are  held  each  year. 

soon  became  unconscious.  He  was  so  encouraged  that  he  then  began 
to  hunt  around  the  wharves  for  a  person  who  would  submit  to  a  test, 
but  he  discovered  that  while  they  would  gladly  render  themselves  un- 
conscious with  bad  rum,  they  could  not  be  bribed  to  take  ether.  His 
next  step  was  to  use  gas  in  extracting  a  tooth  for  Eben  H.  Frost,  at  his 
office  at  No.  19  Tremont  Row,  now  Tremont  Street,  opposite  the  old 
Museum,  on  September  30,  1846.  This  experiment  was  so  successful 
that  he  asked  permission  of  Dr.  John  C.  Warren,  then  senior  surgeon  at 
the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  to  administer  his  ether  there. 
Dr.  Warren  had  a  patient  named  Gilbert  Abbott  who  was  suffering 
from  tumor  of  the  jaw,  and  he  allowed  Dr.  Morton  to  etherize  him. 
The  operation  was  performed  on  October  16,  1846,  and  was  entirely 
successful.     Dr.    Morton    was    unavoidably    detained    and    arrived 

[  62  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

at  the  hospital  just  as  Dr.  Warren  was  about  to  perform  the  operation 
without  ether,  the  latter  thinking  Dr.  Morton  did  not  dare  make  the 
experiment.  Dr.  Warren's  first  words  when  the  operation  was  over 
were,  "Gentlemen,  this  is  no  humbug." 

The  discovery  was  then  disclosed  to  the  world,  through  Dr.  Warren's 
efforts  and  the  assistance  rendered  to  Dr.  Morton  by  the  hospital. 
Dr.  Warren  wrote,  "A  new  era  has  opened  on  the  operating  sur- 
geon," and  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  in  a  lecture  said  in  part,  "The 
fierce  extremity  of  suffering  has  been  steeped  in  the  waters  of  forget- 
fulness  and  the  deepest  furrow  in  the  knotted  brow  of  agony  has  been 
smoothed  forever."     Dr.  Holmes  also  coined  the  word  "anaesthesia." 

About  a  week  after  this  successful  trial  at  the  hospital,  Dr.  Charles 
T.  Jackson,  a  chemist,  demanded  a  percentage  of  the  profits  derived 
from  the  sale  of  the  ether  or  the  patents.  Much  space  could  be 
devoted  to  the  quarrel  between  these  two  doctors  and  to  Dr.  Mor- 
ton's repeated  attempts  to  get  his  invention  patented.  Ether  was 
used  so  generally  that  Dr.  Morton  finally  called  himself  "the  only 
person  in  the  world  to  whom  this  discovery  has  so  far  been  a  pecuniary 
loss."  In  1848  the  Trustees  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital 
and  other  citizens  presented  him,  as  the  true  discoverer,  with  $1,000. 
He  figured  his  profits  due  to  the  discovery  at  $1,600  and  his  expenses 
at  $187,561.  During  his  controversy  with  Dr.  Jackson,  some  one 
suggested  that  the  only  way  of  settling  the  dispute  would  be  to  have 
a  duel  between  the  two  belligerents  with  ether  bottles,  and  he  who 
remained  conscious  the  longer  should  be  declared  the  winner.  Several 
times  a  bill  very  nearly  went  through  Congress  carrying  an  appro- 
priation of  $100,000.  Dr.  Morton  spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life 
on  his  farm  in  Wellesley,  which  he  called  "Etherton,"  the  Wellesley 
Public  Library  being  to-day  on  part  of  his  place.  He  died  of  apoplexy 
while  driving  in  Central  Park,  New  York,  and  although  he  died  a  poor 
and  unsuccessful  man,  never  does  a  day  go  by  without  his  discovery 
bringing  joy  to  suffering  humanity.  Exercises  are  held  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts General  Hospital  every  year  on  the  16th  of  October  to  com- 
memorate this  discovery. 

A  monument,  the  gift  of  Thomas  Lee  of  Boston,  in  the  Public 
Garden  near  the  head  of  Marlboro  Street,  was  erected  to  the  dis- 
coverer of  ether,  and  the  inscription  reads  as  follows: — 

To    COMMEMORATE 

the  discovery 

that  the  inhaling  of  ether 

causes  insensibility  to  pain. 

First  proved  to  the  world 

at  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital 

October  16,  1846. 

It  has  often  been  asked  why  Dr.  Morton's  name  wasn't  on  the 
monument.  It  certainly  should  be.  Dr.  Holmes  said  that  the  in- 
scription should  read  to  "Either." 


[  63  ] 


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SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

THE   "JAMESTOWN"   EXPEDITION  TO   IRELAND 

New  England  came  promptly  to  the  assistance  of  famine-stricken 
Ireland  in  1847,  and  by  generous  contributions  was  able  partially  to 
repay  that  country's  kindness  in  sending  food  in  1676  to  our  starving 
Puritans  in  Massachusetts.  A  mass  meeting  was  held  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  where  Edward  Everett  made  a  speech  which  was  largely  respon- 
sible for  arousing  the  interest  of  New  England  in  this  enterprise.  It 
was  Everett's  father  who  was  usually  known  as  "Boston's  Yard  Stick"; 
he  was  so  learned  and  stood  so  high  in  the  esteem  of  Bostonians  that 
all  other  citizens  were  measured  by  and  compared  with  his  standard. 
Soon  after  this  meeting  a  petition  signed  by  prominent  men  was  sent 
to  Congress  asking  for  the  loan  of  a  vessel,  and  although  this  country 
was  at  war  with  Mexico,  nevertheless  the  United  States  man-of- 
war  Jamestown  was  offered  by  the  Government  free  of  expense, 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  our  representative  in  Washington,  being  largely 
responsible  for  procuring  the  ship.  The  Constitution  was  at  one  time 
considered.  The  Boston  Relief  Committee  was  composed  of  Josiah 
Quincy,  Jr.,  mayor  of  the  city,  P.  T.  Jackson,  Thomas  Lee,  David 
Henshaw,  J.  K.  Mills,  G.  W.  Crockett,  and  J.  Ingersoll  Bowditch, 
who  acted  as  treasurer  of  the  fund.  The  command  of  the  Jamestown 
was  intrusted  to  Captain  Robert  Bennet  Forbes,  and  it  was  the  first 
time  that  a  civilian  had  ever  been  chosen  to  command  a  United 
States  ship-of-war.  He  used  to  say  that  he  "was  born  to  eat  bad 
pudding  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope."  He  first  went  to  sea  in  1817 
at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  with  a  Bible,  a  Bowditch  navigator,  a 
"ditty  bag,"  and  a  box  of  gingersnaps,  which  the  cabin  boy  stole  the 
first  night  out.  The  Jamestown  was  prepared  for  sea  by  Commodore 
F.  A.  Parker  at  the  Charlestown  Navy  Yard,  and  curiously  enough  the 
loading  of  the  supplies  was  begun  on  St.  Patrick's  day.  The  La- 
borer's Aid  Society,  composed  of  poor  Irishmen,  offered  their  services 
free  in  placing  the  provisions  on  board,  and  in  a  few  days  800  tons 
or  about  8,000  barrels  of  grain,  meal,  etc.,  were  stored  in  the  hold. 
Massachusetts  furnished  $115,000  worth  of  food,  of  which  Boston's 
share  was  $52,000,  while  other  New  England  States  gave  $36,000. 
The  ship  put  to  sea  on  the  28th  of  March,  the  tug  boat  R.B.F.,  with 
the  Relief  Committee  and  other  friends  on  board,  escorting  down 
the  harbour  the  "Ship  of  Peace"  as  she  was  called  on  this  trip.  She 
arrived  at  Cork  on  April  12,  having  made  the  voyage  in  the  extraor- 
dinarily quick  time  of  fifteen  days,  only  one  tack  having  been  made 
on  the  entire  voyage.  There  was  much  enthusiasm  as  the  Jamestown 
and  her  valuable  cargo  moved  up  the  harbour,  a  band  on  shore  in 
the  mean  while  playing  "Yankee  Doodle."  The  chairman  of  the 
reception  committee  of  Cork  said  in  his  address  that  "a  thousand 
lips  pale  with  woe,  and  a  thousand  tongues  half  paralyzed  with  hunger, 
uttered  the  feeble  exclamation,  'God  Bless  America.'"  During  the 
evening  bonfires  blazed  from  every  hill,  and  most  of  the  houses  were 
illuminated  from  top  to  bottom.  William  Rathbone,  a  well-known 
Liverpool  merchant,  came  over  to  Ireland  to  superintend  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  cargo.  The  gratitude  of  the  Irish  people  was  un- 
bounded, and  the  dinners  and  receptions  given  to  the  officers  of  the 

[  65  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Jamestown  were  too  numerous  to  mention — Whigs  and  Tories,  Con- 
servatives and  Repealers,  Catholics  and  Protestants,  all  paying  them 
their  respects.  Many  of  the  children  born  in  Ireland  at  this  time 
were  called  Boston,  Forbes  or  James,  the  latter  an  abbreviation,  of 
course,  of  Jamestown. 

One  of  the  foremost  of  the  Relief  Committee  in  Cork  was  Father 
Theobald  Mathew,  who  was  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  Ireland; 
he  was  of  great  assistance  to  the  officers  of  the  Jamestown  in  distrib- 
uting the  supplies.  The  citizens  of  Cork  presented  to  our  President  a 
flag  of  Irish  manufacture,  emblazoned  with  the  arms  of  the  United 
States,  but  up  to  the  time  of  writing  its  whereabouts  had  not  been  dis- 
covered. Also  a  valuable  silver  tray  was  given  to  the  captain  of  the 
Jamestown  as  well  as  a  painting  of  the  ship  entering  Cork  Harbour. 
The  Government  of  the  United  States  levied  a  duty  of  $75  against 
the  owner  of  the  platter  when  it  was  brought  to  America.  These 
mementos  now  belong  to  one  of  the  family.  A  banner  was  also  sent 
to  the  city  of  Boston.  While  visiting  a  Mr.  Jeffries  near  Blarney 
Castle,  Captain  Forbes  was  presented  with  a  cow,  which  was  shipped 
home.  She  was  with  calf,  and  her  progeny  was  known  for  many  years 
as  the  Jamestown  breed.  The  last  of  this  stock  died  about  twelve 
years  ago  at  Owls  Nest  Farm,  Framingham,  the  home  of  Robert  Forbes 
Perkins,  Esq. 

In  forty-nine  days  the  Jamestown  arrived  in  Boston,  and  was  turned 
over  to  the  Government.  While  at  the  dock  the  New  England  Relief 
Committee  attended  a  lunch  on  board,  and  the  provisions  served 
consisted  of  mutton  and  poultry  which  had  been  stored  on  board 
previous  to  sailing  fifty-one  days  before. 

The  Jamestown  served  as  a  hospital  ship  until  a  few  years  ago, 
when  she  was  condemned  as  being  too  old  for  service.  Her  wheel, 
which  was  procured  through  the  assistance  of  Hon.  George  von  L. 
Meyer,  when  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  hangs  on  the  wall  of  the  house 
of  one  of  the  descendants  of  "Commodore"  Forbes. 

The  Macedonian  was  sent  from  New  York,  as  well  as  several  other 
ships  from  Maine.  The  Pendletons,  a  sea-faring  family,  of  Islesboro, 
Maine,  also  sent  several  vessels  during  the  1847  famine.  Great  difficulty 
was  encountered  in  getting  a  return  cargo,  and  finally  it  was  decided 
to  fill  the  hold  with  sods,  which  were  placed  on  some  of  the  farms 
in  Islesboro.  It  was  discovered  some  time  ago  that  upon  this  earth 
had  grown  a  large  number  of  real  Irish  shamrocks,  which  are  still 
alive  and  which  serve  as  a  memento  of  the  part  that  Maine  played 
during  the  famine. 

The  Boston  Post  wrote  at  the  time  the  Jamestown  was  about  to 
sail,  that  "this  vessel  is  associated  with  one  of  the  noblest  charities 
on  record";  and  on  her  arrival  the  Cork  Advertiser  spoke  of  the  under- 
taking as  the  "noblest  offering  that  nation  ever  made  to  nation."  This 
expedition  was  very  similar  to  those  undertaken  recently  by  the  Bel- 
gian relief  committee. 


[66] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

COLONEL  ROBERT  G.  SHAW  LEADS  HIS  NEGRO 
REGIMENT  TO  THE  WAR 

When  Colonel  Shaw  led  his  coloured  regiment,  the  54th,  past  the 
State  House  before  Governor  Andrew  and  then  to  the  steamer  at 
Battery  Wharf,  thousands  of  people  turned  out  to  cheer  "the  fugitive 
slave  transformed  into  a  soldier  by  authority  of  a  liberty-loving  State," 
as  expressed  by  Mayor  Quincy  in  his  address  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Shaw  monument.  Governor  Andrew  believed  that  a  negro  regiment 
ought  to  be  formed  and  that  it  would  give  a  good  account  of  itself 
— and  it  did.  Many  of  the  states  had  denied  them  to  be  "human 
persons,"  and  the  southern  leaders  frequently  alluded  to  them  as 
"this  peculiar  kind  of  property."  Colonel  Shaw  had  served  as  a 
private  in  the  7th  Regiment  of  New  York  and  was  a  commissioned 
officer  in  the  2nd  Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteer  Infantry  when 
he  received  a  telegram  from  Governor  Andrew  asking  him  to  take 
command  of  the  first  coloured  regiment  to  be  sent  to  the  front.  He 
rode  over  with  Colonel  Charles  Morse  to  the  camp  of  the  1st  Massa- 
chusetts Cavalry  and  told  his  friends  Major  Higginson  and  Greely 
Curtis  of  his  new  commission.  He  also  added  that  if  either  of  his 
two  comrades  would  take  his  place  he  would  serve  under  him.  Colonel 
Shaw  joined  the  regiment  at  Readville  in  1863,  was  married  in  May 
and  sailed  for  South  Carolina  the  last  of  the  same  month.  The  regi- 
ment and  its  brave  leader  were  given  the  chance  to  assault  Fort 
Wagner  on  July  18th  of  the  same  year.  A  gallant  attack  was  made, 
but  the  garrison  was  fully  prepared  and  successfully  defended  the 
position.  The  coloured  troops  reached  the  walls  of  the  fort,  and 
Colonel  Shaw  was  shot  through  the  heart  and  killed  while  actually 
standing  on  the  ramparts.  His  last  words  from  the  parapet  were, 
"Forward,  54th,"  and  then  he  fell.  The  battle  lasted  two  hours,  and 
regiment  after  regiment  was  beaten  back;  the  54th  lost  two-thirds  of 
its  officers  and  about  half  its  men.  The  Confederates  buried  Colonel 
Shaw  and  his  dead  negroes  in  the  same  trench,  which  was  a  fitting  end 
for  this  officer,  who  gave  his  life  to  help  the  Union  and  the  cause 
of  the  negro.  General  Thomas  G.  Stevenson,  who  later  in  the  war  also 
lost  his  life,  was  in  command  of  the  field  on  the  night  after  the  assault, 
and  he  ordered  all  the  wounded  negro  troops  brought  inside  the  lines 
before  the  white  soldiers,  fearing  that  the  former  might  receive  ill 
treatment  from  the  Southerners.  Colonel  Edward  Hallowell  and 
Colonel  N.  P.  Hallowell,  who  died  only  recently,  were  at  one  time 
officers  of  this  same  regiment. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Wagner  was  practically  an  impossibility,  and, 
as  was  afterwards  proved,  the  attack  was  unnecessary.  This  gallant 
charge,  however,  to  use  the  words  of  Major  Henry  L.  Higginson, 
proved  that  "the  negroes  had  won  their  places  as  brave,  steady 
soldiers,"  and,  as  Governor  Wolcott  said  in  his  address  at  the  unveiling 
of  the  Shaw  monument  in  1897,  it  showed  "that  whatever  the  colour 
of  the  skin,  the  blood  that  flowed  in  the  veins  of  the  coloured  man  was 
red  with  the  lusty  hue  of  manhood  and  of  heroism."  The  54th 
served  throughout  the  war  and  was  reviewed  by  Governor  Andrew  at 
the  State  House  steps  on  its  return  to  Boston. 

[  67  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

The  dedication  of  the  St.  Gaudens  monument  opposite  the  State 
House  is  so  recent  as  to  be  remembered  by  almost  every  Bostonian. 
The  prime  mover  in  building  this  memorial  was  Joshua  B.  Smith, 
a  fugitive  slave,  who  was  in  the  service  of  Colonel  Shaw's  family  and 
later  a  well-known  caterer  in  Boston.  Edward  Atkinson  was  treas- 
urer of  the  first  committee,  which  was  a  large  one.  The  second 
and  most  active  committee  comprised  only  three  men,  John  M. 
Forbes,  Henry  Lee  and  Martin  P.  Kennard.  H.  H.  Richardson  was 
the  architect  chosen,  and  on  his  death  Charles  F.  McKim  took  his 
place.  George  von  L.  Meyer,  who  was  then  an  alderman  of  the  city, 
obtained  an  appointment  for  the  construction  of  the  terrace  and 
stone  work,  Arthur  Rotch  having  suggested  the  place  where  the 
monument  now  stands.  Addresses  were  made  in  Music  Hall  by 
Colonel  Francis  H.  Appleton,  who  acted  as  Chief  Marshal,  Governor 
Wolcott,  Mayor  Quincy,  Professor  William  James, — whose  brother 
was  wounded  at  Fort  Wagner, — Colonel  Henry  Lee  and  Booker  T. 
Washington,  who  had  been  given  an  honorary  degree  the  year  before 
by  Harvard  University.  Colonel  N.  P.  Hallowell,  who  commanded 
the  55th  negro  regiment  in  the  war,  led  the  battalion  of  survivors, 
and,  as  the  statue  was  unveiled,  Battery  A  fired  salutes  on  the  Com- 
mon, and  the  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  Texas  fired  their  guns  in 
the  harbour.  The  two  features  of  the  parade  were  the  7th  Regiment 
of  New  York,  with  which  Colonel  Shaw  first  went  to  the  front  in 
1861,  and  the  members  of  the  coloured  54th.  The  verse  of  James 
Russell  Lowell  on  the  monument  tells  us  how  Colonel  Shaw  met  his 
end. 

"Right  in  the  van  on  the  red  ramparts'  slippery  swell 
With  heart  that  beat  a  charge  he  fell  foeward  as  fits  a  man; 
But  the  high  soul  burns  on  to  light  men's  feet 
Where  death  for  noble  ends  makes  dying  sweet." 

The  inscription  composed  by  Charles  W.  Eliot,  as  well  as  Major 
Higginson's  address  in  Sanders  Theatre,  should  be  read  by  every 
patriotic  citizen. 

St.  Gaudens  worked  twelve  years  on  this  great  work,  but  he  must 
have  been  fully  repaid  for  his  labors  by  the  words  of  Colonel  Shaw's 
mother — "You  have  immortalized  my  native  city,  you  have  im- 
mortalized my  dear  son,  you  have  immortalized  yourself." 

RETURN  OF  THE  FLAGS  TO  THE  STATE  HOUSE 

The  return  of  the  colours  to  the  State  House  on  Forefathers'  Day, 
December  22,  1865,  two  hundred  and  forty -five  years  after  the  anni- 
versary of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  was  a  most  impressive  cere- 
mony. By  an  order  of  the  War  Department  the  volunteer  regiments 
and  batteries,  when  mustered  out,  deposited  their  colours  with  Colonel 
Francis  N.  Clarke,  U.S.A.,  who  was  chief  mustering  officer.  Major 
General  Darius  N.  Couch  was  the  commanding  General,  with  his 
headquarters  on  Boston  Common,  and  the  flags  were  turned  over  to 
him  by  Colonel  Clarke.  The  colour  bearers  left  their  regiments  and 
batteries  as  they  marched  past  the  State  House,  and  grouped  them- 
selves on  the  steps  near  Governor  Andrew,  the  "War  Governor"  of 

[  68  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Massachusetts.  The  Rev.  Samuel  K.  Lothrop  offered  the  prayer. 
The  Governor  then  received  the  colours,  which  were  placed  in  Doric 
Hall,  and  in  1900  removed  to  their  present  positions  in  Memorial 
Hall.  There  are  now  in  the  collection  305  flags  of  the  Civil  War,  not 
counting  the  twenty-one  flags  of  the  volunteer  regiments  and  Naval 
Brigade  of  Massachusetts  which  had  been  carried  in  the  Spanish 


"  The  Return  of  the  Battle  Flags,"  from  a  painting  by  Edward  Simmons,  made  from  a  Cop- 
ley Print.  The  painting  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  Hall  of  Flags  in  the  State  House.  Copyright 
by  Edward  Simmons;  from  a  Copley  Print,  copyright  by  Curtis  &  Cameron,  and  printed  by 
their  kind  permission. 

War  and  which  are  in  a  case  by  themselves  near  the  Hall.  The 
late  Governor  Guild  always  took  a  great  interest  in  Memorial  Hall, 
which  he  always  referred  to,  and  which  is  often  known,  as  the 
Hall  of  Flags.  It  was  quite  in  keeping  that  he  should  be  the  first 
Governor  to  lie  in  state  here.  The  histories  of  the  flags,  if  they  could 
have  been  told  by  their  standard  bearers,  would  be  of  great  interest, 
and  would  occupy  many  volumes.  There  are  no  captured  flags  in 
/the  State  House. 

[69  ] 


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SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

DICKENS'  INTERNATIONAL  WALKING   MATCH 

When  Charles  Dickens  was  in  Boston  on  his  second  visit  in  1868  he 
and  three  of  his  friends  got  up  a  walking  match  about  which  few  people 
know.  Dickens  had  not  been  sleeping  well,  and  so  George  Dolby, 
an  Englishman,  who  was  planning  Dickens'  lecture  tour,  and  James  R. 
Osgood,  who  was  his  travelling  companion  while  in  America,  deter- 
mined to  amuse  the  distinguished  writer  by  arranging  this  interna- 
tional contest.  Dickens  and  James  T.  Fields  were  the  umpires,  and 
one  of  the  conditions  of  the  contest  was  that  these  two  should  start 
from  the  first  tree  on  the  Mill  Dam  Road  and  walk  towards  Newton 
Centre  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  later  when  the  real  match  took 
place  it  was  agreed  that  Dickens  should  stand  at  this  point  in  the 
middle  of  the  road  and  act  as  the  turning  mark  for  the  two  contest- 
ants. "Boz"  paced  the  course  at  such  a  clip  that  Fields  became 
exhausted  and  had  to  sit  down  on  a  doorstep  in  Newton  Centre  and 
eat  oranges,  which  Dickens  said  was  the  only  kind  of  refreshment 
except  a  bottle  of  blacking  that  could  then  be  purchased  in  that 
village.  Dickens  drew  up  the  articles  of  agreement,  which  were 
signed  by  Dolby,  Osgood,  Fields  and  himself.  The  match  was  for 
"two  hats  and  the  glory  of  their  respective  countries." 

The  "Sporting  Narrative,"  also  written  by  him,  gives  an  account  of 
the  match  and  describes  how  Osgood,  the  Boston  Bantam,  won  a 
decisive  victory  over  Dolby,  the  Englishman,  after  walking  over 
the  thirteen  mile  course  on  a  cold,  snowy  day  in  February.  Dickens 
describes  his  countryman  as  "a  thought  and  a  half  too  fleshy  and  if 
he  accidentally  sat  down  upon  his  baby,  would  do  it  to  the  tune  of  four- 
teen stone."  Dickens  further  added  that  "the  Bantam  showed  unex- 
pected endurance  and  (like  the  sailor's  watch  that  did  three  hours  to  the 
Cathedral  clock's  one)  unexpected  powers  of  going  when  wound  up." 
Dolby  attributed  his  defeat  to  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Fields  followed 
his  rival  the  last  part  of  the  way  and  "supplied  him  continuously  with 
bread  soaked  in  brandy."  The  time  of  the  match  was  two  hours  and 
forty-eight  minutes.  Dickens  gave  a  dinner  that  night  at  the  Parker 
House,  which  was  a  very  jolly  occasion,  and  some  of  the  guests  were 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Russell 
Lowell,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ticknor, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aldrich,  "an  obscure  poet,  named  Longfellow,"  as 
Dickens  expressed  it,  and  others.  Bostonians  loved  Charles  Dickens, 
who  in  return  always  referred  to  Boston  as  "his  American  home." 

During  this  visit  he  gave  his  readings  in  Tremont  Temple.  The 
sale  of  tickets  took  place  at  the  store  of  Ticknor  &  Fields,  12  Tremont 
Street,  and  lasted  eleven  hours,  some  $2  admissions  selling  as  high  as 
$26.  Throughout  the  night  there  was  a  line  along  Tremont  Street 
for  half  a  mile,  some  of  the  eager  buyers  bringing  mattresses,  food 
and  drinks.  In  New  York  his  readings  were  fully  as  popular.  It  was 
noticed  that  the  people  at  the  head  of  the  ticket  line  wore  caps  and 
were  quickly  spotted  as  speculators.  A  rule  was  therefore  passed 
at  once  that  no  tickets  should  be  sold  to  any  buyer  with  a  cap.  Hats 
were  procured  at  large  prices  from  onlookers,  and  the  front  row  seat 
tickets  all  turned  up  as  usual  in  the  hands  of  speculators. 

[  72  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON   EVENTS 

Dickens'  first  visit  to  America  was  in  1842.  At  this  time  the  Bos- 
tonian's  idea  of  hospitality  consisted  of  an  invitation  to  occupy  a 
place  in  the  family  pew  at  church,  and  Dickens  said  that  he  was 
offered  as  many  sittings  as  would  have  accommodated  many  large 
families.  There  is  even  a  story,  not  credited  to  Dickens,  of  a  Bostonian 
who  had  been  entertained  very  cordially  in  Europe;  his  former  hostess 
came  to  Boston  and  received  from  her  former  guest  an  invitation  to 
call  at  his  house  after  tea  and  then  go  to  church!  Boston  has  long 
since  lived  down  the  reputation  she  used  to  have  of  being  cold  to 
strangers.  Dickens  came  over  in  the  Britannia  on  his  first  trip,  and 
in  the  Cuba  the  last  time. 

The  following  bright  verses  were  written  and  sung  by  Joseph  M. 
Field  at  a  dinner  given  to  Dickens  in  Boston  on  February  1,  1842: — 

THE  WERY  LAST  OBSERWATIONS  OF  WELLER,   SENIOR 

Remember  wot  I  says,  Boz, 

You're  goin'  to  cross  the  Sea; 
A  blessed  vay  avays,     oz, 

To  wild  Amerikey; 
A  blessed  set  of  savages, 

As  books  of  travels  tells; 
No  Guv'nor's  eye  to  watch  you,  Boz, 

Nor  even  Samivel's. 

They've  'stablish'd  a  steam  line,  Boz, 

A  wi'lent  innowation! 
It's  nothing  but  a  trap,  to  'tice 

Our  floatin'  population; 
A  set  of  blessed  cannibals — 

My  warnin'  I  repeats: — 
For  ev'ry  vun  they  catches,  Boz, 

Without  ado  they  eats! 

They'll  eat  you,  Boz,  in  Boston!  and 

They'll  eat  you  in  New- York : 
Wherever  caught,  they'll  play  a  bles- 

-sed  game  of  knife  and  fork ! 
There's  prayers  in  Boston,  now,  that  Cu- 

-nard's  biler  may  not  burst; 
Because  their  savage  hope  it  is, 

Dear  Boz,  to  eat  you  first ! 

They  lately  caught  a  Prince,  Boz, 

A  livin'  vun,  from  France; 
And  all  the  blessed  nation,  Boz, 

Assembles  for  a  dance! 
They  spares  him  thro'  the  ev'nin',  Boz, 

But  with  a  hungry  stare; 
Contrives  a  early  supper,  tho', 

And  then  they  eats  him  there! 

Lord  how  they  gobbled  "Pickwick" — fate 

Which  "Oliver"  bef el: 
And  watering  mouths  met  "Nic,"  and  "Smike," 

And  watering  eyes  as  well; 

[  73  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING   BOSTON  EVENTS 

Poor  "Nell"  was  not  too  tender,  Boz, 

Nor  ugly  "Quilp"  too  tough; 
And  "Barnaby" — and  blest  if  e'er 

I  thinks  they'll  have  enough! 

I'll  tell  you  wot  you  does,  Boz, 

Since  go  it  seems  you  vill; 
If  you  vould  not  expose,  Boz, 

Yourself  their  maws  to  fill; 
Just  "Marryatt,"  or  "Trollope,"  Boz, 

Within  your  pockets  hem; 
For  blow  me  if  I  ever  thinks 

They'll  ever  swallow  them ! 

FIRST  TELEPHONE  MESSAGE   IN  BOSTON 

"Mr.  Watson,  please  come  here,  I  want  you,"  were  the  first  words 
sent  over  a  telephone.  Professor  Alexander  Graham  Bell  made 
this  remark  to  Thomas  A.  Watsc  t  at  No.  5  Exeter  Place,  Boston, 
on  that  memorable  day,  March  10,  1876.  Had  he  realized  that  this 
sentence  would  be  handed  down  to  the  world  he  would  undoubtedly 
have  thought  out  a  message  as  fitting  as  wrere  the  first  words  that 
were  sent  over  the  Morse  Telegraph,  which  were,  "What  has  God 
wrought?" 

The  details  leading  up  to  this  event  are  most  interesting.  Pro- 
fessor Bell  was  a  teacher  of  deaf  mutes  at  Boston  University,  and 
was  special  instructor  of  the  deaf  grandson  of  Mrs.  George  Sanders 
of  Salem  at  whose  house  he  resided  for  several  years,  during  which  time 
he  did  much  experimenting.  The  house  stood  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building.  At  this  time  he  was  interested  in  the 
"harmonic  telegraph,"  and  he  asked  Thomas  A.  Watson  to  help  him 
make  certain  parts  of  the  mechanism.  Mr.  Watson  was  an  elec- 
trician in  Charles  Williams'  workshop  at  109  Court  Street,  Boston,  and 
received  a  splendid  training  under  him.  Watson  said  that  most  of 
the  inventors  had  an  "angel"  wrhom  they  hypnotized  into  paying  their 
bills.  One  of  the  experiments  at  this  shop  was  with  a  new  electric 
engine,  and  it  was  arranged  that  nitric  acid  was  to  be  poured  into 
the  iron  tanks  to  generate  the  electric  current.  The  acid  was  poured 
in,  and  the  inventor,  "angel"  and  workman  had  a  race  to  see  who 
could  get  out  of  the  shop  first.  Mr.  Watson  frankly  admits  that  he 
won,  as  he  was  "first  away." 

The  "harmonic  telegraph"  was  not  a  success;  had  it  been,  the 
telephone  might  not  have  been  invented  for  some  years.  It  was 
while  working  on  the  telegraph  that  Professor  Bell  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  telephone,  and  he  and  Watson  at  once  set  to  work  on  this 
invention.  A  wire  connecting  two  rooms  was  set  up  in  the  upper 
story  of  Williams'  office,  which  was  still  at  109  Court  Street.  W  hile 
experimenting,  Bell,  who  was  at  one  end  of  the  wire,  suddenly  shouted 
out  to  his  fellow  worker  at  the  other  end  of  the  line,  "Don't  change 
anything."  He  had  heard  the  first  sound  ever  transmitted  by  tele- 
phone. This  was  on  June  2,  1875.  The  faint  sound  that  Bell  had 
heard  meant  that  the  speaking  telephone  was  at  that  moment  born. 

[74  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

Mr.  Watson  was  present  when  the  picture  shown  below  was  taken, 
and  he  very  kindly  explained  where  he  and  Professor  Bell  stood  when 
the  first  sound  was  heard.  These  two  inventors  then  ran  a  wire  down 
two  flights  of  stairs  in  their  building,  and  this  was  "the  first  telephone 
line"  ever  put  up.  The  building  where  these  tests  were  made  is  still 
standing,  the  lower  floor  being  occupied  by  a  theatre.  Then  followed 
on  March  10  of  the  following  year  the  first  sentence  ever  spoken  over  a 
telephone,  which  we  have  described.  Bell's  telephone  was  exhibited  at 
the  Philadelphia  Exposition  in  1876.  Progress  was  rapid,  and  on 
October  9,  1876,  Mr.  Watson  wrote  that  "we  are  ready  to  take  the 


Attic  of  Williams'  workshop  where  the  first  sound  was  heard  over  a  telephone.  Professor  Bell 
stood  on  one  side  of  the  post,  and  Professor  Watson  on  the  other  side,  each  being  in  a  small  room 
at  the  time. 

baby  out  doors  for  the  first  time."  The  private  wire  of  the  Walworth 
Manufacturing  Company  running  between  Boston  and  Cambridge 
was  loaned  for  this  test.  Bell's  voice  came  across  the  wire,  "Ahoy, 
Ahoy!"  and  the  first  "long  distance"  connection  began.  The  word 
"Ahoy"  has  now  given  place  to  "Hello."  The  whole  conversation 
appeared  in  the  Advertiser  the  next  morning,  and  the  report  made  a 
tremendous  sensation.  Bell  and  Watson  danced  a  war  dance  at  their 
rooms  at  5  Exeter  Place,  and  their  landlady,  who  did  not  appreciate 
their  new  discovery,  ordered  them  to  leave  if  they  ever  again  made  such 
a  noise.  Watson's  old  teacher,  Moses  G.  Farmer,  called  on  them 
within  a  few  days  and  declared  he  ought  to  have  made  the  discovery, 
and  added  that  "if  Bell  had  known  anything  about  electricity  he 
would  never  have  invented  the  telephone." 

[  75  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 


The  first  permanent  telephone  line  was  installed  between  Mr. 
Williams'  office  on  Court  Street  and  his  house  in  Somerville.  The 
first  newspaper  report  transmitted  by  telephone  was  sent  by  Henry 
M.  Batchelder  in  Salem  to  the  Boston  Globe  on  February  12,  1877. 
Gardiner  G.  Hubbard,  Professor  Bell's  father-in-law,  and  Thomas 
Sanders,  Treasurer  of  the  Company,  were  staunch  backers  of  the 


The  firat  telephone  message  was  heard  in  the  upper  story  of  this  building,  now  occupied  by 
the  New  Palace  Theatre,  109  Court  Street. 

enterprise.  Hubbard  offered  the  Bell  patents  to  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company.  The  offer  was  rejected,  and  two  years  later  these 
same  patents  were  worth  $25,000,000.  Professor  Bell  began  to  lect- 
ure in  1877,  his  first  appearance  being  at  the  Essex  Institute  in  Salem. 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  and  Henry  W.  Longfellow  were  among  those 
who  signed  a  request  for  lectures  in  Boston.  Bell  lectured  while 
W'atson  on  the  other  end  of  the  wire  talked,  sang  and  shouted. 
Mr.  Watson  said  that  never  before  had  such  poor  singing  been  received 
with  such  tremendous  applause.     On  one  occasion  Watson  at  Middle- 

[  76  ] 


SOME  INTERESTING  BOSTON  EVENTS 

town,  Conn.,  talked  at  the  same  time  to  New  Haven  and  Hartford,  but 
the  songs  didn't  come  in  at  the  right  time  during  the  lecture.  These 
demonstrations  stirred  up  a  great  demand  for  telephones,  and  the  public 
was  ready  for  the  telephone  long  before  the  inventors  were  ready  for 
the  public. 

The  automatic  switch,  the  switchboard,  and  the  Blake  transmitter, 
invented  by  Francis  Blake,  did  a  great  deal  to  perfect  the  telephone. 
Mr.  Watson  mentions  his  excitement  when  the  company  hired  its 
first  book-keeper,  Robert  W.  Devonshire,  then  Thomas  D.  Lockwood 
as  lawyer,  and  George  W.  Pierce  as  Watson's  private  clerk,  who 
remained  in  the  employ  of  the  company  until  January  1,  1914,  when 
he  was  retired.  Mr.  Devonshire  is  now  Vice-President,  and  Mr. 
Lockwood  Patent  Attorney,  of  the  Company.  Mr.  Watson  writes 
that  "David  had  hit  Goliath  squarely  in  the  forehead  with  a  rock 
labelled  Patent  No.  174,465,"  winning  a  decision  over  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph. 

Mr.  Theodore  N.  Vail,  President  of  the  American  Telephone  & 
Telegraph  Company,  in  his  1914  report  mentions  that  when  Professor 
Bell  and  Mr.  Watson  talked  between  New  York  and  San  Francisco 
they  could  hear  each  other  more  clearly  than  when  they  held  their 
first  conversation  in  two  rooms  of  the  same  building,  the  old  telephone 
instruments  being  used  for  the  later  test.  The  Boston-San  Francisco 
line  of  3,505  miles  was  opened  on  January  25,  1915.  The  Bell  System 
in  the  United  States  has  8,648,993  stations,  a  wire  mileage  of  17,475,594 
miles,  and  an  average  of  27,848,000  calls  per  day.  The  gross  revenue 
for  1914  was  $226,000,000. 

President  Vail  in  his  report  says  that  "it  is  a  long  step  from  a 
hardly  intelligible  telephonic  conversation  between  two  rooms  to  a 
perfectly  easy,  low  voiced  conversation  between  the  extremes  of  our 
land,  East,  West,  North  and  South." 


Over  ] 


L  77  ] 


I)p+p  Hue 


AUTHORITIES 

Among  the  authorities  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  this  brochure, 
and  to  whom  the  author  desires  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness,  are 
the  following: 

GENERAL  REFERENCES 

The  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  by  Justin  Winsor. 

History  of  Boston,  by  Samuel  G.  Drake. 

History  of  Boston,  by  Caleb  H.  Snow. 

Romantic  Days  in  the  Early  Republic,  by  Mary  C.  Crawford. 

Old  Boston  in  Colonial  Days,  by  Mary  C.  Crawford. 

Social  Life  in  Old  New  England,  by  Mary  C.  Crawford. 

Old  Boston  Days  and  Ways,  by  Mary  C.  Crawford. 

Dealings  with  the  Dead,  by  Lucius  M.  Sargent. 

New  England  Legends  and  Folk  Lore,  by  S.  A.  Drake. 

Old  Boston  Boys,  by  James  d'Wolf  Lovett. 

Old  Landmarks  and  Historic  Personages,  by  S.  A.  Drake. 

Figures  of  the  Past,  by  Josiah  Quincy. 

Boston,  by  M.  A.  DeWolfe  Howe. 

Historic  Towns,  by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge. 

Curiosities  of  History,  by  William  W.  Wheildon. 

Boston  Events,  by  Edward  H.  Savage. 

Memoirs  of  a  Hundred  Years,  Edward  Everett  Hale. 

SPECIAL  REFERENCES 

The  Makers  of  Maine,  by  Herbert  Edgar  Holmes. 

Nooks  and  Corners  of  the  New  England  Coast,  by  S.  A.  Drake. 

William  Blackstone,  by  Thomas  C.  Amory. 

Merry  Mount,  by  Motley. 

Curious  Punishments  of  Bygone  Days,  by  Alice  Morse  Earle. 

Strange  and  Curious  Punishments,  by  Henry  W.  Brooks. 

Ignominious  Punishments  and  the  Massachusetts  Currency,  by  A.  McFarland  Davis. 

Beacon  Hill,  The  Beacon  and  the  Monument,  by  W.  W.  Wheildon. 

Sentry  or  Beacon  Hill — The  Beacon  Monument,  by  W.  W.  Wheildon. 

The  State  House,  by  Ellen  Mudge  Burrill. 

Gov.  Winthrop's  Journal. 

History  of  Harvard  University,  by  Josiah  Quincy. 

The  College  in  Early  Days,  by  A.  McFarland  Davis. 

The  Laws  of  Harvard  College,  by  Josephus  Willard,  1795. 

Boston  Common,  by  Samuel  Barker. 

Early  Days  on  Boston  Common,  by  Mary  Farwell  Ayer. 

A  Brief  History  of  the  Old  North  Church. 

Christ  Church,  by  C.  K.  Bolton. 

Historical  Account  of  Christ  Church,  by  Rev.  Henry  Burroughs. 

Curiosities  of  the  Lottery,  by  Henry  M.  Brooks. 

Tales  of  Province  House,  by  Hawthorne. 

First  and  Second  Banks  of  the  United  States,  by  National  Monetary  Commission. 

Money  and  Banking,  by  Horace  White. 

A  Sketch  of  the  Tour  of  General  Lafayette,  by  John  Foster. 

Lafayette  in  America  in  1821+  and  1825,  by  A.  Levasseur. 

History  of  the  Granite  Railway  Co.,  by  Alfred  Mudge  and  Son. 

History  of  the  Town  of  Quincy,  by  George  Whitney, 

The  Garrison  Mob,  by  Theodore  Lyman,  3rd. 

Trials  of  a  Public  Benefactor  {Life  of  Dr.  Morton),  by  Nathan  P.  Rice. 

A  Consideration  of  the  Introduction  of  Surgical  Anaesthesia,  by  W.  H.  Welch. 

Voyage  of  the  Jamestown,  by  R.  B.  Forbes. 

The  Monument  to  Robert  Gould  Shaw,  Dedication  Exercises,  etc. 

Charles  Dickens  as  I  knew  him,  by  Dolby. 

Birth  and  Babyhood  of  the  Telephone,  by  Thomas  A.  Watson. 

[  78   ] 


J.J>. 


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